Moon Mind
by Wild Way Force
Summary: Time its self hates him. It tried more than once to end him. But he's alive. Basil is a time adoptive to JB with something unique about him. But can he figure out what that is before time and space are broken beyond repair?
1. Chapter 1

No, no! This wasn't right! That's not where he wanted to go! Instead of ending up at his desired destination he found himself in the back seat of a smashed burning car. Once he got over his time sickness as fast as he could. There was a high pitch scream that would lower only for a few seconds, like whoever was screaming was catching a breath while still screaming, then go back up. When his vision cleared completely he found flames circling around them from the front seats and the trunk. The screaming seemed to come from his right side. He twisted his head to see a baby still strapped in the back-facing car seat. The baby didn't seem to notice him because his head was tilted back looking up at something on the roof at the front of the car. _Sun roof. He's looking out the sun roof._ That was when he noticed it was dark beyond the flames in the car. The flames starting jumping for their row. If he didn't do something this baby would die! Despite shouting voices in his head telling him that it was a violation of time he unbuckled the child and picked him the moment he felt nothingness. He gently laid the screaming child's head on his chest. The act alone seemed to calm him to the point where the loudness became nothing more than a whimper. He looked down at the small kid whose ear was right above his heart listening to it beat. There was something different with this one. He'd seen thousands of babies before in the past but this one was just…different. Even in the darkness of Outer Time he could see thin whips of dark, rusty blonde hair was scattered on his rather bald head. His eyes were squeezed shut like he was afraid of what he might see if he opened them up. Little fist grabbed his shirt. Drawing him even closer to his heart. In his mind it was like a war zone. One side for saving for him and the other for protecting time. He couldn't send him back to that death could he? _All of it was perfectly safe. No laws were broken. No one was there to see anything, not through the fire. This was a perfectly pulled off rescue._ He defended. This wasn't like Matt when he pulled him out of that building that was collapsing and on fire. He felt like this was meant to be. Even though the others at the agency would call it Elucidator malfunction. He _knew_ he didn't do anything that would have caused him to gone to that time. A slight vibration feeling in his hands told him the kid was shaking. Looking at the frighten kid he couldn't help but say,

"Hey, hey, it's going to be alright." Suddenly he a wave of grief or guilt hit him. He couldn't tell what it was so he figured it was both. He saved this kid and he didn't know anything about him. From looking at him he couldn't be older than a few weeks. _As soon as we get back I'm going to figure who you are and your story. I'll make sure you get a well carrying family to adopt you._ As if he could read his mind the baby's tiny fist clinched his shirt even tighter. The light came zooming up to greet them.


	2. Chapter 2

He walked through the office building feeling a bit strange carrying a baby through HQ.

"Jesse, what happened? And who's the kid?" Hadley walked up to him. His arms spread out confused. He shook his not exactly sure how he should handle this.

"My Elucidator acted up and sent me to the wrong time. I seriously got to have that checked out! And I'm not sure who this is yet." He told him straight up. Jesse shifted the kid upward so he could adjust his grip.

"Jesse Burnish, the time purest, pulling a kid out of history?! Again!" Hadley said in disbelief.

"With all due respect Hadley, you didn't experience what I have." He said flatly. For an unknown reason this tighten the grip on the kid. Hadley opened his mouth to speak but he beat him to it.

"Look. I'm going to find out about my new friend here then send him over the orphanage. Promise." Hadley's mouth was still open but no words came out then his mouth snapped shut and he nodded.

"Want me to take your Elucidator to repair?" He offered. Jesse nodded his thanks and awkwardly handed him the Elucidator. The moment he was gone they continued the trek to his office.

The door closed behind him automatically. With the kid still in his arms he chicken-pecked in a code on his light keyboard for a crib to appear. He lowered the kid in who was still clutching his shirt. Gently he unfurled his fingers and stood up straight. With a loud sigh he plopped down in the seat and swung his body to the face the desk.

"Let's find out who you are." He muttered to the kid lying next to him. Typing in another code a light screen blinked a few inches behind the keyboard. It showed a video of a women lying upright in a hospital bed holding something in her arms. Down in the bottom corner of the screen showed "San Diego CA, U.S.A. January 29, 2008". The mother didn't seemed too interested in her newborn son. She was interested in talking to the man who was lying half on half off the bed. The new born squirm and whined but no one responded. They were too busy talking about what they were going to do to meet their friends. This alone was enough to make him grit his teeth behind his lips. Then they the women suddenly turned to the calling newborn in her arms. She asked what he thought they should name it. There was a lot of arguing over terrible names. One of the ideas was Mesh. The man suggested that one. The women suggested Bat but the man just laughed. They eventually agreed on Mink. Jesse took a glance at the baby that was calmly resting in the crib.

"You're Mink?" He asked raising an eyebrow. "I don't think so pal." Then he went back to watch the rest of the video. Now the parents and the baby were at local bar with some friends two weeks later and they were clearly having too much to drink. The baby was in the car seat Jesse recognize on the floor. One of the guys suggested that they should see what would happen to the baby if they smashed the car into a brick wall. At this point he was barely able to contain his anger, his hate. The parents buckled the car seat in the back seat while two of the guys were messing with the driver's side up front. They closed the doors and backed away to a safe distance while one of the two guys stayed up there and dropped a brick down on the gas pedal and bolted from the car. The engine roar and went speeding off ahead till the front rammed into the brick wall hard enough for the front to crunch inwards and the rear to be lifted a couple of inches off the ground. Smoke broke out from under the hood and flames soon engulfed it. The rear started smoking now too. Jesse hit a key on the board and the screen disappeared. He didn't need to see more he knew what happened after that. And he was too furious to watch anymore. He couldn't believe that's where he went, what he saved this kid from. Jesse bent down and stared at the kid who was staring right back at him.

"I'm so sorry!" He whispered. " _No one_ deserves to have parents like that!" He stroked the top of his head then glided the back of his fingers down to his cheek. Baby Mink grabbed one using his whole hand to do it. Jesse gaze right into his dark blue eyes. Never had he felt so much sympathy before.

"Let's see if you got the justice you deserved." He whispered pulling his finger back feeling bad doing so. The kid reached out to him like he was afraid he would be left again. Releasing a sigh he stuck his finger back for Mink to grab again. With his other hand he hit another key popping the screen back up with a video of a new anchor reporting on a story. Jesse smiled happily hearing that Mink's parents and their friends were charged with first degree murder and destruction of property. They lady reporting said they would be in jail for up to thirty years. Not that it would matter now. He pressed the key again and the screen disappeared again. Jesse picked Mink up cradling him in his arms.

"Looks like you got the justice you deserved." He smiled. Mink smiled back stretching his arms up to his face.


	3. Chapter 3

He stood in front of the desk of the receptionist telling the lady about Mink's story. She nodded signaling she was fallowing along as she typed. Mink was staring up at him with another fist full of his shirt.

"All righty then. All that's left to do is a check-up." She led them back to a small white room. Mink started struggling expressing his displeasure. Jesse attempted to calm him down by slowly bouncing him up and down. The receptionist pulled out a small shiny silver bar from a cabinet. The closer she walked towards them, the more Mink got upset. It wouldn't be long before he started crying. She rubbed the end of the short side of the bar on his forehead then down to his cheek before rubbing it on his stomach. For the entire short amount of time, Mink was thrashing as hard as he could still wrapped in Jesse arms.

"Hey what's that about? It doesn't hurt, a little cold maybe, but it doesn't hurt." He asked the struggling kid. Jesse looked up to see the receptionist look at the screen on the long flat side. For a moment he thought a look of confusion, or was it shock flash across her face. But quickly switched back to the fake caring smile. That was when Mink started letting out quiet whimpers, threatening to cry and somehow struggled even harder. The cause-and-effect didn't settle well with him suddenly. The quick expression change the receptionist tried to hide then Mink freaking out sent a message to his head saying _this is a bad idea! Get out now!_ She placed the bar back into the cabinet and walked back over with that fake smile still on her face. _She's really trying to hide that expression change_ , Jesse thought keeping a sharp eye on her.

"As they used to say: he's as healthy as horse!" She gave out a low laugh. He laughed with her to be polite but he hated every second of it. They walked back out to the front area and she sat down in her seat typing more. Mink's whimpering subsided and replaced by single tear. That tear tugged on his heart more than seeing all the cruel things done to completely innocent people in the past. He brushed it away with his thumb, his heart breaking. Something wasn't right here and Mink just might end up the victim of something savage. She looked back up at him,

"Everything is in check and he's ready to go see his new bed." She stood up from her chair and stretch out her arms wanting to take Mink from him. Mink hit his chest with his small fist still clutching his shirt. He tighten his grip on him.

"Maybe I should do it. He seems to trust me and…I wanna say so long first." Jesse asked more than said. The receptionist withdrew her arms and shrugged her shoulders.

"Make my job easy why don't ya?" She laughed, this time Jesse just forced a smile. They walked around to the back and up a few floors then into a large wide room that was just as white as the check-up room. About twenty cribs were evenly spaced out, some empty some not. She led him over to a crib in the second row three back. This was it. This was as far as their relationship would take them. But was he about to entrust Mink to them? Even though he told her Mink's story he felt like she didn't care the slightest. He looked down at the small child in his arms. Mink was looking at him with…plead? He could almost hear him saying _please don't leave me!_ Gritting his teeth and forcing every muscle in his arms, he placed the kid down into the crib. He avoided direct eye contact because he couldn't bear to see the look in his eyes.

"Take care kid." He whispered letting go. Jesse turned around heading directly for the door. Once he knew he was out of Mink's he heard him cry out to him. He sped up his trip to and through the door clenching his fists. Back at the front desk he spun around to face the receptionist taking her seat again.

"I know this is going to sound very strange but I wanna be completely involved in what happens to him! I want to be notified on everything that involves Mink." He said flatly but forcefully. She looked confused but smiled and nodded. With a final sigh he left for home.


	4. Chapter 4

He walked in to find his wife, Brook feeding their one month old time adoptive Matt. Back in time his name was Jack. He was a small town hero back in 1780 when he rescued everyone from a burning building on the brink of collapsing. Jesse pulled him out right before he was killed. His Elucidator had another malfunction and turned back into a baby. When he told Brook about it she thought it was a sign they should adopt him and they did. They had him for a few weeks now and he adjusted very well.

"Hey." He gave her a quick kiss before he went to sit down on a kitchen counter stool.

"Rough day?" She asked. He sighed in response laying his elbow on the counter rubbing his head with his hand.

"What happened?" She asked nicely but with a tone that told him when wasn't going anywhere till he told her. He released his head letting his arm flop down on the counter, his hand dangling over the edge.

"My Elucidator had another malfunction today. I went somewhere…interesting. I meet someone unique. Then I ended up saving him and now he's in the orphanage." Jesse came out and told her. She gave him a heart-filled look. Setting Matt down in a small holding crib with him still drinking from the bottle, she sat down next him on the other stool putting a hand on his shoulder. The jester was comforting, now he knew how Mink felt when he was listening to his heart.

"He must be pretty special if you're acting like this. A protective father I mean." She murmured. Jesse sighed grabbing the hand on his shoulder.

"I can't really explain it but with the short amount of time I spent with him, I felt a special connection towards him. When I left him at the orphanage I was disgusted at myself. The first time he cried since he got here was when I left him! He trusted me and I abandoned him!" He let go and rubbed his face with his hands. Brook gave him a sympathetic frown.

"Well, are you keeping tabs on him?" She asked rubbing his back.

"Yea." Jesse gave his knees a hard pat. He could still hear Mink crying for him not to leave echoing in his head.

"Brook, you're a doctor." He turned to his head to look at her.

"Thanks for the occupation reminder. Because sometimes I wake thinking, today I feel like being a mechanic." She joked getting him to smile for real. He always loved that about her. Always able to make him smile no matter how down he felt.

"What is it when you feel like you wanna keep someone safe but you know you can't?" Jesse asked feeling more lighthearted.

"Well I'm no physiatrist but it sound just like caring. I can truly say talking about it will make you feel better." She started rubbing his shoulder blade. He looked directly at her into her eyes. This was someone he could tell anything to and not feel ashamed or embarrassed. Nothing was out of bounce with her. So he told her everything that happened. Finding himself in a burning car, finding Mink in there, rescuing him, learning his story, giving him up to the orphanage. And she was right, he did feel better. When he finished she laid her head on his shoulder gripping his upper arm for support.

"I know you'll like him if you meet him. There's just something about him that you-well at least I-can tell is special." He sighed loudly. She rubbed his arm in agreement.

"Just keep a close eye on him and who knows what the future will bring." Brook pecked his cheek before heading back for Matt.


	5. Chapter 5

A whole week went by and it was Friday again. Jesse called the orphanage everyday even though they kept trying to reassure him that if anything pops up on Mink's agenda he'll be the first to know. But that still wasn't enough to settle him. The only thing that would, would be Mink going to a family that he approved of. The week was nothing special in work anyway. He arrested a few criminals, sending them to prison, paper work…time travel as usual for him. So far the most dramatic thing that happened to him was Matt throwing his bottle at his forehead. That kid seriously had a future as a baseball pitcher. At the moment he just got back to his office from a trip to the kitchen. With a sandwich and glass of water in hand he sat down at his desk. He was about to take a bit when he heard the phone started ringing. Giving off a depressed and hungry sigh he set the sandwich down and picked up the phone not bothering to see who was calling.

"Hello?" He answered.

"Jesse Burnish?" A female voice came back. He suddenly recognized the voice as he receptionist from the orphanage.

"Yes?" He asked starting to get worried.

"We know that you check every day about a baby named Mink and well something just came up with him. And the head of the orphanage and doctor would like to talk to you in person at your earliest convenes." She said. He knew all too well that earliest convenes meant if you don't come now you won't know what's going on and never will know all the details.

"I'm on my way now." Jesse replied getting up then hanging up. He rushed out as fast as he could swinging by Hadley's office to tell him to cover for him. Then he went straight to the orphanage. Getting there he didn't even bother to exchange greetings before asking where he was to meet the head and doctor. She led him to a private room on the top floor, so three floors up. The receptionist closed the door behind as he entered. It was a fairly large room with well-maintained purple carpet, a window that had a view, walls with pictures of happy kids smiling. A man in a suit sat in a large plush work chair behind an overly big desk in Jesse opinion. Another man stood next to him in a long white medic coat, the same kind that Brook would wear at work.

"What's this about? What's wrong with Mink?" He asked not bothering with small talk.

"Mr. Burnish please take a seat." The man sitting down gestured to a chair on the other side of the desk. He sat down but grudgingly. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Mr. Calvin, the head of this orphanage. No decision is made without my approval. And this is our doctor Dr. Smith." He extended a hand towards the person standing next to him.

"We are well aware that you insist on knowing _everything_ that involves Mink. So when this decision was made you were the first to be notified as promised." Mr. Calvin leaned back in his chair.

"What are you talking about? What decision?" Jesse demanded.

"Well I've done a complete medical exam, as done with all new clients. And well we run the test with the current adoption rate and well we discovered the chances of him being adopted are extremely slim to non-existent." Dr. Smith spoke up. Jesse turned to him with a confused look on his face.

"What does a medical exam have to do with his chances of being adopted?" The doctor cleared his throat before answering.

"People these days are quite particular on what they want and need in terms of medical standards in an adoptable kid. To put it simply Mink doesn't have any qualities people want, medical or otherwise. We ran the statistics and no matter what they came out as 0.000001 percent chance. So Mr. Calvin and I agreed the best thing to do is humanly euthanase him." Jesse couldn't believe what he was hearing. They wanted to put him down like a rabid wild animal!

"You can't be serious! I didn't save from a burning car just for you to kill him yourself! You're an orphanage for crying out loud, not a vet! You're supposed to give kids a second chance, not take their lives! This would be the first kid euthanase by an orphanage in history! This is sick! Twisted! What's wrong with you two?!" Jesse shouted at them. Completely losing his cool, not that he had much to start with. Mr. Calvin patted the air telling him to calm down.

"You're blowing this out of proportion. This is just live taking someone off life support. It's the kindest way to take someone out of their misery." Mr. Calvin eyeballed him.

"Mink's totally healthy!" He argued.

"I'm sorry Mr. Burnish but that's our decision. We agreed we would contact if something came up and when did. Mink will be put down from sometime from seven this evening to tomorrow evening." He stood up moving his arm pointing to the door. Jesse stood up to glare at him in the eyes.

"You're committing murder!" He screamed at him then stormed to the door, slamming it on his way out. For the rest of the day he couldn't focus on work at all. He was too furious to anything but sit and think. He left earlier than usual since he couldn't work anyway. He went to where he knew he would find someone who listen to reason.

When he got home he accidentally closed the door harder than he intended.

"Jesse what's wrong?" Brook asked as he walked into the kitchen. She always got off work by noon on Fridays, it was just after five now. Normally he wouldn't be home till an hour to an hour and half later. He gripped his head with two fist, growling out of anger and frustration. Jesse took a deep breath to calm him down enough to speak.

"Remember that baby I save from the burning car, well the orphanage is doing to put him under!"

"What! They can't do that to him, he's a human not an animal!" Brook exploded.

"They say it's because he's unadoptable." Jesse said in a mocking tone. It was refreshing to see someone as mad as him. Brook got up from her seat at the counter and grabbed her jacket from off the counter.

"Where are you going?" He asked but he already knew the answer.

"I'm going to see what makes someone unadoptable!" She slid her jacket on and walked out the door. Jesse fallowed her with a slight smile on his face. They got the neighbors to watch Matt as they went out.

Mink laid in the crib shivering. Not shivering, shaking. _He's scared._ Brook stooped down and carefully picked him up. Mink was still shaking.

"Hey, hey. It's alright." She whispered to him. "How could anyone do this?! You're perfectly fine." She stayed calm but Jesse could still pick up the anger in her voice. Mink stopped shaking and looked up at her like he just notice he was being held. She grazed a finger against his cheek. Jesse laid his hand on the top of his head. Mink turned to him and smiled recognizing his friend. He smiled back seeing him happy.

"Jesse we can't let them do this. We can't let them put him down like he's a wild animal." She turned to him.

"Wait are you saying _we_ should adopt him?" He asked loving that she agrees with him. She smiled and nodded looking back down at Mink.

"What's his name?" She asked him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders looking down at the baby. Jesse forgot the whole time he told her about Mink he kept referring to him as 'he'.

"His birth parents named him Mink." He told her. She flashed him a look of confusion and disgust.

"No, not him." She looked at him adoringly. "He's defiantly a Basil." Jesse smiled at the both of them. Mink smiled at his new name. At that moment a doctor walked in surprised to see them.

"Come to say good-bye I see. So sad isn't it?" He asked but there was no hint of sadness in it. _He's early._ Jesse noticed. _They had no intention of waiting. Of course!_ He thought furiously.

"Don't worry little fella, you'll be in a good place soon." The doctor looked down at Mink who was still looking between them.

"Yes he will be. Because _we're_ adopting him." Jesse informed. The doctor's face flashed to pure bafflement.


	6. Chapter 6

Thirteen years later…

Basil walked down into the kitchen in his middle school uniform and messenger bag over his shoulder. He walked in to find Matt and their nine year old sister Bridgette already eating breakfast at the kitchen counter. Bridgette was the actual, biological kid of their parents. It was obvious to see who she got her genes from. She had a nice blend of both their parents' hair and hazel eyes from mom.

"Morning Bay." His mom kissed his head. Bay was a nickname he had ever since he was a baby and it just stuck on like a remora.

"Morning." He greeted as he took the stool on the other side of Matt. He was dressed in the same school uniform. Even though they went to the same school they were split up into different classes. They had been in the same class all the way till middle school. Basil was in room 2A while Matt was in room 2D. All middle schools and high schools required their students to uniforms except for two special days in the month when they didn't have to. Bridgette didn't wear one since the requirement didn't extent to the elementary schools. Sometimes she would poke at them because of it. Mom seat a bowl of cereal in front of him with the spoon resting on the edge already inside. He began eating happily. Tromping down the stairs signaled that Dad was coming down.

"You guys ready for school? You got that test today right Matt?" He asked as he picked up a bowl of yogurt and fruit for himself.

"Speaking of school you two better get going if you want to get there on time." Mom looked at the microwave clock. The elementary school didn't start till their school was already thirty minutes in. So Bridgette got to hang out at home earlier in the morning. But in the afternoon there was a half an hour of bliss. Basil downed the rest of the milk in the bowl, tossed his bag over his shoulder heading for the door with Matt on his tail.

"Matt make sure you tie your tie." Dad called after them since his tie was dangling around his neck. He stared down at it with a surprise look on his face and started tying. Basil always enjoyed the walk to school. It was peaceful with the quite morning. Birds chirping, morning runners running, morning people doing their normal thing. The only sounds coming from their feet walking on the sidewalk and their normal morning chit-chat. That was till they got to the school. There was a slow trickle of students in the same sand colored jacket, white button down shirts and red and gold ties. The building it's self was pretty big to hold everyone, the gym and the large field. A stone wall fenced the school's boarders. When they entered they walked with each other to their class hall. Basil waved so long as they reached his room first.

It was a normal day. His teacher, Mr. Shambles lecturing on about every different topic making everyone drowsy. Normally he would just doodle on the boarders of his notebook pages. Going to gym to run and workout, getting called his pet peeved nickname 'seasoning'. Lunch. Heading back to his desk for more doodling as Mr. Shambles continued on whatever he was talking about. He was switching things out of his locker and bag when he saw someone coming towards him trying to use his locker door as cover out of the very end of the corner of his eye. Knowing who it was, Basil took a step back as he locker door slammed shut with a loud bang. It was Marris, the school's biggest jerk, bully. And Basil was his favorite prey.

"What do ya want Marris?" He said coolly looking him in the eye. Marris was more of a pain than a physical threat.

"Aww you're not happy to see me?" He smirked evilly.

"No one is." Basil said flatly slipping his bag over his head. _He's about to lose it._ A small voice in the back in his head spoke. _His first strike's going to be a basic punch to the gut, then his friends are going to come and hold me in place for him to finish me off easily._ And he was right Marris threw a punch were his stomach was if he didn't slid his body diagonally getting him closer to Marris' right shoulder. This is hands down is what he's best at: reading situations so well it was almost like he could see the future. The bully leaned farther than he planned expecting to have made contact. His cronies caught him but Basil was already running down the hall. He turned the right hearing Marris and friends hunt him like starving animals. Basil kept turning in different directions at every intersections. Then he spun behind a corner when he knew his hunters would be turning into his hall. They ran right passed him farther down the hall. He couldn't help but smile, then headed for the front door.


	7. Chapter 7

Matt met up with him in the courtyard so they could walk home together.

"What took you so long?" He asked tossing his arms behind his head. Basil looked at him. He had dark brown hair that look almost black in low lighting, like their dad's. Light brown eyes and that almost constant smile on his face. He was a star baseball player that had the skills and the looks. Their entire family believed he could go pro. There was nobody like him. With sports as his strong suit, he tend to struggle a bit with the academics. So it was common to for them to study together. Even in different classes they still covered the same things at the same time. Matt was taller than him by about an inch. Despite all three kids were born in different eras they still looked like a biological family.

"Just had to get something off my back." He answered. Matt gave him a confused look but quickly shook it off.

Basil was sitting at his desk in his room trying to finish his homework done before dinner. When he got home he instantly went upstairs and switch into his normal clothes. A red t-shirt with a white jacket shirt over it and dark blue jeans. The front door closed down stairs. _Dad's home late_. He looked up and out the window in front of him. When Mom and Dad heard he would stare at the moon every night from the orphanage's receptionist they gave him the room were its windows faced the front of the house and the moon for most of the night. The sun was starting filter a bright pre-evening glow. _Something big must've happened at the agency if he's this late. And by the sound of his footsteps he's on his second or third wind but determined to finish the day off upbeat. What could get him this tired but happy?_ Giving up on the last two questions for the moment he headed down stairs. His assumptions were right. He looked ragged and tired but had a true smile on his face. His hair was messed up and had bruises forming blow his right eye and on both cheeks, like he got into a fist fight on the floor.

"Dad what happened to you?" Matt asked from the kitchen stool. Papers scattered in front of him on the counter.

"I tell you at dinner." He let out a deep breath.

"Well its ready now. Matt can you go get Bridgette." His mom said. Matt sighed but obeyed heading towards the stairs. Before Dad would explain what happened he wanted to hear everyone else's day. They all rushed through their stories to hear his. Even Bridgette rushed through and normally she would spend half of dinner talking. Then it was finally Dad's turn.

"Today we had an extreme crisis. Two time travelers going by the names Gary and Hodge were kidnapping famous and important kids from history. They were trying to smuggle them into our time to sell them off. So we had to shoot down the plane they were using into the begging of the twenty-first century. Thankfully there was no complication with you Basil." All Basil knew about his original identity was his Dad pulled him out of crashed burning car in 2008 then, a week later they adopted him. Dad continued,

"The crash caused thirteen years of damaged time. The agency put me in charge of the situation while most were trying to stop the ripple effect. So I went back before the crash and sent letters to all the missing kids. Then I skipped forward in the next time I could get in and snuck into the FBI to tell the kid now call Johan, to remember a list of names that I left on the desk. I met someone who was wronged by time and told her the truth. But I didn't use my real name." then Mom interrupted,

"What name did you use then?" Dad made a face and answered,

"I told her I was Alfonzo-Afraid-Manzo T'hut." The entire table burst into laughter.

"Did you just say every name that popped into your head?" Mom asked through laughter.

"Don't worry, I got a new name created by three kids: JB."

"It works." Matt shrugged the laughter dying.

"The next encounter we had was when I tackled Hodge to keep them from kidnapping

two missing kids in a library. When time was becoming too thin we left. Later I found out that they organized an adoption conference to steal them all back, so I went and got into another fist fight. Angela, my new friend help out by siding with the kids and tying up Gary, Hodge and myself. The moment I got my hands on Elucidator I sent the two to time prison then sent two kids named Chip and Alex back to their native time with their friends Johan and Katherine tagging along. They said they wanted to save so they could return and live their lives in the twenty-first century. And they did. That's what happened." Dad finished. _No wonder Dad's drained. But that explains why he's happy. Time can be save and the kids don't have to die._ A strong mental tug told him that the moon was out. It wasn't painful or anything, more like the back of your mind telling you it's nine and your show is on. Once dinner was over Basil retreated back to his room since it was Matt's turn to do the dishes. After he finished the last two questions in a breeze he just looked out the window at the moon. It was something he's done since he was born he guessed. For some reason he always felted comforted by it, like talking to an old trusted friend. But no words were being spoken. Lately a feeling like he was on the brink of remembering something important kept pounding in the back of his head. Every night the feeling kept stronger. It was killing him not being able to figure it out. He was so in his thoughts a voice at his door nearly gave him a heart attack.

"Basil, mom said once you're done with your homework you have to play with me." Basil spun around in his chair to see Bridgette there.

"He can play with you after he helps me with the last of my homework." Matt walked up behind her.

"But mom said!" Bridgette started raising her voice into a whine.

"He already promised to help me!" Matt raised his voice. That was partly true. He didn't _promise_ to help but he did say he would help him. Basil got up from his chair seeing the fight was digging farther in his room. He tried to separate the two by getting in the middle of the shouting match but he accidently stepped on Bridgette's foot. She let out a short shout and he tried to take a step back but his heel hit something on the floor and he slipped backward. His head cracked against the hard wall. Instantly his vision back blurry and he couldn't hear. Things started going black. Everything was still dark but he could make out flames jumping around the edges of his vision. There was crying. No, _he_ was the one crying. His vision came into full focus and he was looking out a sunroof in a car looking at the moon. He was crying for it to save him. It was so bright, so friendly looking. That was all he could focus on. The soft yellow-white glow, its dark creators, the rough surface. The image blurred up again. This image had a softer bright light. He thought he could make out figures in front of him but he couldn't be sure. Something laid on his shoulder. With a few quick blinks his vision was back to 20/20. Mom and Dad were in front of him calling his name, worry in their voice. Matt and Bridgette stood behind them silent. He realized it was Dad's hand on his shoulder. He slowly raised his arm like it weighed twenty pounds and rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head.

"Basil, are you alright?" Mom put a hand on the side of his head. Instead of answering with _yea_ or _I'm fine_ he answered with,

"I remember." Everyone looked at him confused.

"I remember how I was supposed to have died."


	8. Chapter 8

He looked past everyone and out the window at the moon. _You showed me that_. He was certain it was the moon who showed him. Even though he couldn't explain how or why. For a second that was all he could see. Everyone else seemed to disappear. The moon was coming straight through the window. He could almost feel its glow. Then he turned to face his dad who had look of dread on his face.

"How is that even possible?" He muttered under his breath. Back in his normal voice, "Basil let's talk in private." Dad faced everyone else,

"I'll explain this to everyone else later." He put a hand on his shoulder guiding him out of the room and to his office on the first floor. The wood and glass door closed behind them quietly. They didn't even bother sitting down to start talking.

"My birth parents put me in that car and crashed it on purpose, didn't they?" Basil watched Dad walk around the desk to the seat behind. He didn't see that part but he _knew_ that's what happened. It was nothing more than an extremely strong feeling. But it felt right. _The moon is really getting into my head!_

"Yea." Dad nodded. "Basil, you're birth parents were very twisted people. Drunk or not. To be honest it's a miracle that you lived as long as you did." He dropped down in the seat rubbing his face with his hand sighing. Basil took a seat in one of the two on the other side.

"When I pulled you of that car you were two weeks old. Traveling through time that young is dangerous and we couldn't make you any younger. Every other time adoptive doesn't remember their deathly experiences. Either they were a baby like you were or when they de-aged they forgot. We thought it would just be a baby memory that you would forget. So how do you remember it?" Basil didn't know how to answer. He couldn't say the moon showed him then told him the other details, Dad would just think he's nuts or lost it completely or had a concussion. _The moon showed me a vision from my past then somehow told me it was my parents who did it. No really, I'm not nuts at all!"_ Yea that would go great.

"I'm not entirely sure myself." Basil came to an answer. It wasn't a lie, he wasn't entirely sure on how or why. Dad rubbed his face again.

"This is too weird!" He muttered.

The next morning Basil woke up still exhausted. After his chat with Dad, Mom gave him a concussion test. He didn't have one like he kept trying to tell her. But she was always like that, always making sure they were O.K. That's what he gets for having a doctor as his mom. What felt like a hundred questions he was finally allowed to go to bed. He closed his door and turned off the lights but instead of crawling into bed he stood watching the moon for the next two hours, constantly thinking, _Why like that? Why now?_ The moon didn't answer. So now he was yawning as he put on his school uniform. _I gotta at least try and act normal_. Everyone watched him as he walked into the kitchen. It was creepy to have everyone look at him and not say a word.

"Morning?" He said unsure of what else to add. No one said anything. Basil grabbed his bowl of cereal and took a seat at the empty kitchen table. The entire time everyone watched his every little move. He couldn't even get his first bite without feeling uncomfortable.

"Could everyone please stop looking at me like I'm a freak?" He demanded.

"Basil what happened to you isn't natural. Normal people remember how they were supposed to have died." Bridgette told him. Both parents winced. Dad looked the most hurt. Mom called her name, shaking her disapprovingly.

"What?" She asked innocently. The longer this went on the more he wanted cover his face into the table with his arms blocking out the light, pretending none of this was happening. Dad set his smoothie on the counter roughly getting everyone's attention.

"Basil's right! What happened, happened. We shouldn't and _won't_ treat him like this! He's a human for crying out loud not an animal!" He looked directly at Bridgette when he said won't, enforcing it for her. _Not an animal? When in my past did someone refer to me as an animal?_ He scanned his face looking for an answer. Dad looked distraught like he was trying to forget a memory. If he was certain of one thing right now it was his life will never be the same again.


	9. Chapter 9

For the rest of the day at school, he felt like everyone was staring at him. Even though most people don't even know he exists. He looked like an average kid that does average things. His dirty blonde hair was a bit longer than most but it worked for him. It only went down to his shoulders, he wasn't like those kids who never get a haircut and let it grow to the point where it's more of a cape then hair. He sported basic blue eyes. So yea he was basic looking kid, not a three headed monster spewing fire. When school ended he tried his hardest to shake the whole freak thing out of his head and just focus on his upcoming martial arts match. His parents tried for everyone to be at each other's events. For Matt it was his baseball games. Bridgette, her soccer games. For Basil it was his martial arts matches. Matt was talking about something on their way home but he was too lost in thought. _Dad's not telling me everything. But the question is do I want to know? And what was all the stuff about me not being an animal this morning? Erg! My entire life has now become some sort of freakish mystery and I can barely get an answer nor less a straight one!_ He sighed in defeat. _Well at least I can count on my match to take my mind off it at least for a little while._ At home he changed into his uniform and headed down stairs to lounge on the couch. They still had to wait an hour till they had to leave but the school uniform wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing to wear all day long. It was Friday so that meant no homework. So he could relax for now. Fifteen minutes later the front door opened and Mom walked in with a bag of groceries in her arms.

"Hey Bay, you ready for your match today?" She asked placing the bags on the counter. Basil nodded glad that she was treating him normal again.

Basil sat back on his heels his hands on his knees watching the rest each of his team going through their turns. Martial arts changed a lot throughout time. Instead of everything being fought out on a mat, now they used very realistic situations imitation stages. They could simulate nearly anything from an empty room to a city on an alien planet. It was Basil's dream to become a space explorer. Space always fascinated him, especially extraterrestrial worlds. Instead of old fashioned hand to hand combat they now used specialized weapons. They still used hand to hand if they lost their weapons. All the weapons were made especially for match purposes only, so they couldn't go out and start hurting people with them. Outside of the arena they were nothing more than toys. When they first chose their weapons Basil felt drawn to the Metal Edge. It was an insolence triangle blade with the handle on one of the short sides. Most people didn't like because it seemed to basic and no fun to use. But in the right hands it could become a very power weapons. Acting as a mix between a sword and a large knife and could be tossed like a boomerang. Right now it was laying in front of him. He never saw anyone else use this unique weapon. His teammate lost and the stage powered down. He walked back over to his side and sat down looking bummed. No one ever got hurt worse than a bruise due to how the stage was designed.

"Alright Basil you're up." His coach shouted down the line. Basil always noticed that if his coach wasn't using his hands, his arms were always cross like he didn't know what else to do with them. He always loved the rush when he was called to go next. Grabbing the Metal Edge off the floor he stood up and hopped over the border into the white tile oval. It was roughly the size of ice hockey rink. His opponent walked over to the opposite side. Basil watched him closely figuring out everything he could before the match actually started. His gate was confident but was slowed by the smallest hint of tiredness and boredom. He was a few inches bigger than Matt. _He's going to try and win this by pure strength and try to overpower me right off the bat. He prefers his right arm over the left by how he carries his tonfas. Keep to his left and I'll be fine._ The low walls seemed to move backwards and a there was the briefest flash of white that blinded him. Now the arena was a city rooftop at night.

"Fight!" A robotic voice filled the area.


	10. Chapter 10

Basil ran towards him slightly angling towards his left side. The Metal Edge and the tonfa clashed. He tucked his body in a flip and sailed past. On the way he angled his heel to smash into his opponent's chest. He continued moving till he was back on his feet, his competition slowly got back up swaying ever so slightly, stunned by the surprise attack. This was his favorite starting move. It was the perfect way to learn about your opponent while getting the first strike. _His left side is defiantly his weak spot. It under trained and less coordinated._ The Metal Edge gleamed in the fake lighting. The guy spun to the left expecting to make contact with his right tonfa but Basil was two steps ahead. He stopped the attack easily and countered by sliding his foot between his legs and pulled a foot from under him. He fell back on his back like a dead tree. _He's getting angry. He must not be used to be tripped up so easily._

"This is going to be more fun than I thought!" He got up and wiped a thin thread of spit of the corner of his mouth trying to look intimidating. Basil raised the Metal Edge in response. The guy sprung from his crouched passion at him staying low. Basil backed up to the edge and jumped off, his eyes never leaving the attacker. He shoved the blade into the brick wall as he slid down. Another roof top was coming up and he shoved his feet off the wall jumping to the next roof. He caught the metal edge and tossed his body to safety. The guy looked at him stunned that his stunt actually worked. Basil threw the Metal Edge up in his direction, his way of saying "You're not safe just because you're up there". The attack was blocked and the Metal Edge circled back around to Basil. The guy turned around retreating out of sight in the middle of the roof. Basil backed up seeing what he was about to do. The next thing he knew the guy was there on the same roof with only a few yards away. _This guy is more skillful than I first thought._ He clinched his teeth. The guy began spinning the tonfas and two thin metal chain popped out of the ends.

"You're right this is going to be fun!" Basil smiled at the excitement he was feeling. The chains added a new challenge. A challenge that he didn't expect to encounter. _The chains make up a bit for his left arm but entirely. If I keep to my original plan I'll be fine._ The guy charged at him, chains spinning rapidly. His mistake. Basil stuck out the Metal Edge to entangle the both chains once he got close enough. With the chains all wrapped up he kick him in the gut. He yanked his chains free as he stumbled back. Basil charged in to finish things off when he strong feeling in his head tripped him up. He slowed down enough for his opposition to dodge his attack and kicked his back in a counter attack. _Now! Of all times!_ He could feel the same feeling he did last night when he connect to the moon. It was telling him to just to stay on the defensive and watch. _I can't win if I'm always on the 'D'. Besides I have him!_ He argued but went on the defensive to sort out the war in his head. Then he looked again. If he kept on attacking he would have fallen right into his trap. All his attention would have been drawn to the chain when he got in close again he taken out by the tonfas themselves. The realization of this struck him so hard he allowed a small opening and his opponent attacked. He flew backwards and skidded on his back for a few feet before coming to a stop. He managed to toss his body to the side and back on his feet before the next strike could connect. The feeling was now telling him to get his opposition on the street. _Easier said than done. Well he can't win if he can't get me._ So he made his way down the streets always making sure that he was fallowing. The moment his challenge stepped onto the hard street he hid around the corner were an old fire escape was. He made his way up to the top as fast and silently as he could. Back on the roof he made sure that opposition was still underneath. What he was about to was incredibly risky. He walked back to the midpoint of the roof and sprinted towards the edge. Pushing upward the highest he could, he started spinning in large, wide circles, feeling the blade becoming more powerful with each spin. At the last second he noticed suddenly switched his grip on the tonfas. To counter it he let go of the blade behind his back. While one hand grabbed the striking tonfa the other hand grabbed the Metal Edge's handle and he finished the circle. A sudden win direct hit. He won.

The stadium went back its white oval shape in quick flash. His opponent sat on his knees in defeat. Stun, was all across his face. Basil offered him a hand up, his way of showing that there was no hard feelings. He gladly took it, smiling that he left him his pride.


	11. Chapter 11

Everyone was back around the dinner table. A bowl of fried rice sat in front of each person. Dad looked tired but not messed up like last night.

"Sorry I missed your match today Basil." He apologized. Basil just shrugged it off letting him off the hook.

"It's alright. With everything going on at the agency it must be hectic over there. Besides you can watch the replay online anyway." He took a bite of the rice. Bridgette spent most of dinner talking about she was the only one who got a perfect score on a math test and how the teacher loved her for it. Not like he was listening to any of it. His mind felt totally blank, like a sheet of computer paper. Everything going in one ear then out the other.

"That's great Bridge. What about your day Matt?" Dad cut her off. Matt looked up surprised. His eyes went looked up at the ceiling thinking while Bridgette complained that she wasn't done.

"Oh I know! We played dodge ball in gym and I won for the whole team. I was the last one in play and the other team had ten people trying to pin me down. But my baseball skills became in handy and we managed to win!" Matt smiled at the memory. _How did the moon get in my head during that simulation? And why did it tell what to do? Better question: how did it know what the other guy was going to do?_ He didn't realize what was happening when Matt kept calling his name.

"Huh?" He looked up for the bowl of rice in front of him at Matt on the other side of the table.

"Anybody home in there?" Matt joked, "I was asking if you wanted to play basketball after dinner." Basil nodded accepting the offer.

"How have you been doing Basil?" Mom asked.

"Fine." He answered. The last thing he wanted to tell them that he had another strange moment. Once everyone was done eating Basil got up to collect the bowls and start the dishes.

"I'll do it Bay you go out and play with Matt." Dad took the two bowls from his hands. _He's worried and it's not about time. His eyes are heavy but not from the lack of sleep._ He wanted to ask what was going on but he figured best to stay quiet and take his offer. Basil nodded his thanks and head for the front door.

Basketball was always a game they could agree on. They were both fairly good which made the game that more fun. When the sun went down out of sight they went to just shooting. Matt tossed him the ball and he dribbled it around and through his legs before taking a quick shot. It was a perfect swish.

"So what do you think that's going on that Dad so strange?" Matt asked retrieving the ball.

"You noticed?" Basil was stunned.

"You know Basil you have a keen eye for details, but the rest of us have eyes to you know. We're not blind as bats." He tossed the ball up and it circled the rim before falling in.

"What's up with you anyway? You've been more quite then normal since last night." Basil looked at him hard. They always been more than brothers, they were best friends. When they heard that Bridgette was coming they really leaned on each other for support. They were the ultimate team. He always related them to the sun and moon. Two complete opposites but complemented each other. Matt was always smiling like the sun was always out and had a fiery passion. Basil had always been like the moon. Always there when looking for it and a silent listener. They made a pack to become space explorers together and Basil believed him. Matt was never the kind to break promise. Taking a deep breath Basil told him what happened during the match and last night. _Yin and Yang._

"You're one of a kind Basil." He flashed a smile. Matt was a master of turning someone's serious problems and turn them positive. Then he turned serious,

"Do you think this has something to do with what dad's work problem?" Basil shrugged.

"At this point anything is possible." He sighed.

"You're more mysterious than the Lil' Owl!" Matt laughed. Lil' Owl was Basil's all-time favorite children's book. It was about a purple owl that lived in the forest and nobody knew he existed because he was nocturnal. But he always had a friend in the moon till the end were everyone loved him because he warned them of coming storm. The book was based actually on him but he never saved anyone from a storm. When he was really little his mom told her friend about him and thus Lil' Owl was created. Of course he didn't know that then, but he would have his parents read it to him every night.

"I guess." He smiled lightheartedly.


	12. Chapter 12

That night Basil tossed and turned in his bed in effort to wake up. He was literally stuck in his nightmare. Though he couldn't make everything out he could see three men in a room. One sat in a large fancy chair like it was a throne. He was negating with the other two. One was more muscular than his comrade who seemed to try take over the conversation but the one sitting down wouldn't let him. Basil had no idea why this was so upsetting and why he wasn't allowed to wake. The longer he watched the stronger the feeling that the man sitting down could sense him.

"Shut up!" He snarled. The man instantly closed his mouth and recoiled like he was afraid that he was going to get hit.

"If you want your profit and live to use it you _better_ do _everything_ I tell and I don't accept screw ups!" The sitting man leaned forward seeming to intimidate the other two. And boy was it working. Their heads bobbled up and down like bobble heads on a roller coaster. The man's head turned to face Basil directly. All he could see was narrowed menacing brown eyes but it was clearer than the finest piece of glass. He shot straight up in bed so fast his vision blurred for a second. His breath was hard and ragged. He was absolutely terrified! No matter how hard he tried to shake the memory out of his head all he could see were those eyes. His entire body quaked in a personal tremor. He wanted to get up and see if the moon had any explanation but he couldn't get his muscles to listen. It turns out he didn't need to get up, the moon came to him. _The two standing were Gary and Hodge._ It was nice to put a name to two of the three faces. But he still didn't know who the third person was and the moon wouldn't tell him. _Gary and Hodge are the two people Dad put away. But I can't tell him this can I? Hey dad I know this going to sound crazy but the two most dangerous people you've ever put in time prison have broken out and they made a deal with a dangerous looking dude that I have no idea what it is. How did I find this out? I had a crazy dream. No, trust me even though I have no evidence._ He didn't even believe him. Maybe he should tell Matt, he'll listen. Not right now, it was the middle of the night. Slowly he laid back down but didn't dare to close his eyes. He just stared at the blank dark ceiling. Despite his objections his eyes closed shut.

The sound of someone acting frantic woke him up. It was coming from downstairs. He could tell by the sound of the voices Dad was telling Mom something that was causing him to freak out, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. _Did Dad figure out that Gary and Hodge broke out of time prison?_ He tossed the sheets to the side and headed for the stairs staying as quite as possible. Once they saw someone else was up they would drop the subject like it never happened and pretend everything was fine.

"This can't be happening! This isn't possible! Where-when did they go?!" Dad whispered loudly. _So he did learn about the break out._ He stuck a side of his face around the corner to see into the kitchen. Dad was pacing and running his hands through his hair, ready to pull it out.

"Jesse if you can't calm down at least try and stay still. You're going to wake someone up with all the commotion you're making." Mom put her hands on his shoulders forcing him to stand still. Dad pinched the bridge of his noise then patted the air, telling her he's alright. Basil felt terrible for him, and he knew more than he did.

"You're right. I need focus on what I'm doing today. Help fix time." He sighed. Basil couldn't let this go on. He walked in the room.

"What's going on?" He pretended he didn't know anything.

"Sorry to wake you up. I just realized that I'm going to have to miss Matt's baseball game to." Dad tried to look normal but he could see every emotion except happiness and calmness. He just nodded letting him go. Dad walked out heading towards his office. _Maybe I should tell him after all._ Basil directed his gaze at the floor. Mom pulled him in her side rustling his hair with a sympathetic smile. _She thinks I'm depressed because Dad's so busy with work and I feel sorry for him._

"I'll get breakfast ready while you go get dressed." She let him go. He headed to his room without any acknowledgement. Splashing water on his face and changing into his comfortable day clothes did make him feel better. Back in a red shirt and dark blue jeans, he grabbed his white jacket shirt, the smell of cooked bacon beckoning him down. Matt sat at the table in his baseball uniform munching on a slice of toast. He looked excited and pumped for his game. _I can't tell him now. It'll distract him from what he needs to concentrate on. After, that's when._


	13. Chapter 13

Basil couldn't focus during the game. It was a good thing he wasn't playing, he would cause the team to lose. All he could think of was the dream and how dad reacted this morning. The crowd went wild as a ball flew into the outfield, landing Matt on second. _What if dad does something to affect that dream today? Maybe Dad will catch Gary and Hodge again._ But that seemed only to be wishful thinking. The dream made it felt set. Who was that guy? The space around him seemed to vibrate. Nothing physically changed but he could feel it on his skin. Like space had a shiver. Basil looked around to see if anyone else felt it too but if they did they were hiding it well. Bridgette was sitting at the very top talking to her friend. They were smiling and laughing.

"Did you feel that?" He leaned over and asked Mom.

"Feel what?" She gave him a confused look.

"Never mind." He directed his attention at the dirt ground between the bleacher seats. _Come on Matt! When the game already! I need to talk to you!_ He tried to push his thoughts into his brother's head. Part of him wanted to run till he knew he was safe from whatever was going on. But you can't run from space. Soon enough the game was over but he still couldn't talk to him, not with all these people around. He tried his hardest to keep them moving to the car so they go back home.

"When we get home I need to talk to you." Basil whispered as they made their way back to the car.

After what felt like forever they were in his room with the door closed.

"So what's up?" Matt made himself comfortable in his desk chair. Basil instantly told him about his dream and about how Dad acted this morning. Not leaving anything out. He made sure to tell him about what he felt during the game. Matt conformed what he already thought, he was the only to have felt it. Basil was starting to freak out. Why was it only him that felt this way? Never had he felt so alone. He was used to being on his own but this was different, he felt isolated.

"Space having a shiver, now that's ironic!" Matt laughed. Basil knew he was trying to make him feel better but it wasn't working. He sat down on his bed and something feel on his leg. It was his plush toy of Lil' Owl. Its big yellow eyes and purples feathers were comforting. _You understand me, don't you?_ He smiled at the toy. The rest of the day they brainstormed on what everything meant. At dinner Dad looked like he had something important to say. He was constantly running his hand through his hair. That only happened when he learn of stressing news.

"Alright Jesse what is? You obviously have something on your mind." Mom sat her fork down on the plate. Dad sighed and rubbed his hands through his hair again.

"Yesterday my projection Sam Chase sent three kids into the wrong time and place, double crossing me. Everything turned out fine but he created another version of time and changed his name to Second Chance. So today when we were returning a missing kid, time froze." Dad started. Basil shot straight up. Matt and Basil stared at each other knowing what the other was thinking. _The shiver! That's what it was!_ Somehow he managed to feel time stop then start again.

"Matt, Basil is everything ok?" Dad asked.

"Yea we're fine. Continue." Matt covered for them. He eyed them skeptically. Giving up he continued.

"Albert Einstein was thinking about the wrong things and we returned Emily/ Lieserl to her place in hopes that would fix things. But it didn't right away. Mileva, his wife, learned about time travel and did some really risky things." He went silent. It wasn't long for him to get going but it felt like forever for Basil.

"It turns out I'm the second child of Albert Einstein, Tete." He couldn't believe what he was hearing. His Dad was the son of one of the most famous scientist ever known.

"I'm a directly related to Albert and Mileva Einstein!" Bridgette broke in a huge smile. _Oh great, something else for her brag about._ Dad nodded but happy, distraught. Matt looked at him then shifted his eyes back and forth between him and Dad. He wanted him to tell him about his dream. He couldn't do that, could he? Swallowing he spoke up,

"Ah Dad?" His eyes were heavy, pleading with him for whatever he was going to be good news.

"Never mind." He backed down. Basil turned to Matt who gave him a sad smile shrugging his shoulders. Dinner time was becoming very depressing.

Basil and Matt were using that last bit daylight to shoot hoops.

"Well at least we figured out what was caused that feeling today." Matt took a shot and the ball got perfectly wedged between the rim and the backboard. It was the perfect presentation of his life recently. Extremely weird stuff happening and he couldn't do anything about it. He gave him a quick hand up so he knock the ball free. _Why am I so sure that it was time freezing that caused that feeling not the time split. Or is I just felt both at once somehow?_ None of it made sense. _Who was that man?_ His thoughts switched the mysterious scary person that Gary and Hodge now work for. More importantly what would happen next?


	14. Chapter 14

The rest of the weekend went by too quick for his taste. Nothing else strange happened. No creepy dreams, no moon in his head, no strange feelings. The only thing out of the ordinary was Dad working so much. Today was one of the special days were they didn't have to wear their uniforms to school. This alone was enough to brighten everyone up. Matt was talking about how they should do this once a week instead of twice a month. Basil happily jumped in the conversation feeling normal again. He could see the walls around the school, people streaming into the courtyard. Then he didn't. Everything turned black and the sidewalk was no longer underneath his feet. So much for feeling normal. Despite the darkness he could see Matt's confused look. Freaking out wasn't really his style. He preferred to handle situations rationally. Losing it was Bridgette's thing and she is a master at it.

"Is this Outer Time?" Matt questioned. When they were three Dad told them what it was like to time travel and how it felt to travel through Outer Time.

"I think so but where/when are we heading?" Basil stared at the blackness around him. The next thing he knew they were in a room with four other people. He recognized his dad as one of them. There were two other boys around his age and girl about a year younger.

"Dad? Matt blinked a few times making sure he was seeing the right thing.

"Matt! Basil! What are you two doing here?" He approached them with fear in his eyes.

"JB you're a dad!?" The girl said totally surprised.

"We don't know. We were walking to school then the next thing we knew we ended up here." Basil said apologetically. He sighed and rubbed his face. Dad turned back to face the other three.

"Johan, Katherine, Chip, meet my two sons Matt and Basil." He introduced.

"Hi!" Matt smiled. That was classic Matt for you always beaming bright. The girl, Katherine kept staring at him making feel uncomfortable. It was like she was trying to figure him out.

"You seem familiar." She finally admitted. Dad was on his Ecuildator frantically swiping.

"Matt and Basil are time adoptees. Basil here was born in 2008, your era Katherine. While Matt is from 1780." Dad spoke not looking up. A slight quaking started in his stomach. It was barely noticeable but he couldn't shake the feeling that it was a bad sign.

"So who's older?" The slightly taller boy, Chip, asked. Matt faced him and answered,

"We don't really go by who's older due to being born in different times, it's more like who was adopted first." Off to the side Dad exploded.

"What do you mean I can't send them back?! Who even sent them here?!" He yelled at the Elucidator.

"Looks like we're missing class today." Matt laughed.

"Fine by me. I wouldn't mind missing the note taking." Basil agreed.

"I don't know how or why you're here but you're stuck with us. So we might as well fill you in." Dad sighed. The four of them switched of parts of the story, someone else jumping in when they didn't say a detail correctly. Basically it was Dad was scanning through time to see if _he could spot any anomalies._ Then Johan, Katherine and Chip were sucked out of their time like what happened to them. Dad got a message from the time agency on his Elucidator saying for some reason time was acting screwy and the Eculidators were acting up too so traveling through time was risky by not ending up in the right place, but correct time. Something about the story didn't add up. How could time cause them to go to a time hallow and to a different location?

"I don't think time is the culprit here. I think something's wrong with _space_. Think about it. Pure time travel is going through time but staying in the exact same spot. But this kind of time travel also takes to different locations: space." Basil said. Everyone stayed silent till Matt leaned over and whispered in his ear blocking the side of his mouth with his hand.

"Do you think this has do to with everything that's been happening to you?" That answer felt _right_! Once Matt's head far away enough from his ear he nodded feeling confident and scared. Dad tapped his chin thinking about it.

"Like space as an individual or space as in the space-time fabric?" He muttered to himself.

"I'm not sure about that." Basil shrugged apologetically.

"Oh great more Einstein stuff." Katherine complained. That's right Dad just told them a few nights ago that he was the second Einstein kid. The unsettled feeling in his stomach became more intense but far from painful. That was when he noticed how disconnected he felt. Normally he was a human moon compass. No matter where or what time of day it was he could tell you exactly where it was in the sky. But now that feeling was gone. _How reliant on the moon am I?_ He rarely relied on other people so this idea of being reliant on the moon was painful to grasp. Why can't life come with a manual?

"Hey Dad you said that you were scanning time for any anomalies. Did you finish?" Matt questioned. Dad smiled at him.

"No. Good idea Matt!" He patted him on the shoulder than walked to a wall. Before fallowing they place their school bags in the corner so they would be out of the way. It started from what looked like the early twenty first century then went backwards.

"This is right before we came here." Johan commented. Dad nodded.

"I managed to get through _our_ time to here before you came. I set the Elucidator to notify me if it detects _any_ anomalies. Maybe if we just keep going back we'll find what's causing the trouble." He kept his eyes glued to the screen


	15. Chapter 15

They scanned through decades of time and had several alerts but they turned out to be just normal time travel that happened before.

"Do you think its Gary and Hodge causing all this trouble?" Kathrine suggested

."It's possible. Remember how much they mucked up time in 1918." Dad shrugged. _Is it really them or is it their new boss?_ The thought of him rattled him to the core. Matt grabbed his shoulder and backed them silently to the corner with their bags.

"This doesn't feel right. It's like were looking for trouble we can't handle." Matt's voice was a quiet whisper. Basil nodded.

"I can't really explain it but I feel like this _has_ to happen. I agree with you that this won't go well but we got to do it. At least I have to." He whispered back. Matt suddenly looked sick.

"Wait you were born in 2008. And damaged time was then. Do you think that might be a cause of all of this?" Now he didn't feel well. There was no way he was _that_ important, he was supposed to have died at two weeks old.

"Dad already said that I was fine because I was pulled out before damaged time even happened." He shook his head but he knew what they both thinking. _What if there's a factor we don't know about that somehow connects me to this trouble?_ It was scary to think about. He didn't want to be the reason time and space might fall apart. Again everything went black. They were traveling through time. _Again?_

"JB what's happening?! Where are we going?!" Katherine shrieked.

"I don't know! I didn't do anything!" Dad shouted back. There was fear and panic in his voice. It was so different than his normal calm and cool voice. A bright light ran up to greet them.

Basil had to blink a few times to see things clearly. He was lying face down in grass. A soft wind blew rustling anything light. He could sense the moon again! He felt complete again. By the feeling it was out and right next to him. His head slowly raised up from the grass to the moon looking close enough to see its dark creators clearly against the burned evening sky. Dad sat up rubbing his neck muttering "ow" as he twisted his neck. Matt rolled over on his back to rub his eyes with the heels of his palms."JB where are we?" Johan muttered sounding disorientated. Dad stood up slowly testing his legs. He looked around then at the Elucidator in his hand. As the others got back to their normal selves he kept poking and swiping. After a moment he threw his arms in frustration, the Elucidator clinched in his hand.

"The darn thing's broken! I have no idea when or where we are. I can't even make us invisible." He sighed angrily. Basil didn't focus on him but the moon. Just like how it would always grab him. The connection felt stronger somehow, like there was interference before but it was gone now. _It doesn't matter right now._ It told him.

"It doesn't matter right now." He repeated for everyone to hear. Katherine exploded behind him.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter?! Of course it does!" Basil ignored her and kept staring at the moon. He turned to Matt for support but he gave him a blank look in return. _It's time to tell Dad. It's now or never._

"Hey Dad."

"What is it Bay?" He sighed angrily poking at the Elucidator again.

"Remember when I banged my head and I told you I remembered?" Dad looked up at him fear and curiosity written on his face. Everyone else but Matt looked clueless.

"Well, strange things have been happening-and I don't with time. A few nights ago back in our time I had a dream about Gary and Hodge breaking out of time prison and they were making a deal with someone, someone who looked dangerous the morning when you were told they escaped. When time stopped I was actually able to _feel_ it. And that's not even the weirdest part…I'm actually capable to communicate with the moon." He waited for a response. _Everyone but Matt is going to think I'm nuts or I hurt my head._

"So what, you're able to see the future?" Katherine snorted. Basil faced her with a serious look on his face,

"I don't think it was the future I was seeing. I think that happened somewhere in the past." Dad just gave him a good hard look like he was disappearing. It was giving him the impression he just made a huge mistake.

"Dad?" He asked his voice becoming higher pitch with worry.

"W-Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Dad finally answered.

"I didn't know how you would take it. And with the whole remembering after banging my head I was afraid of being seen as some kind of freak again." Dad's look changed from trying to read him to sympathetic.

"Basil." He murmured and pulled him in a hug. This is just what he needed since this whole thing began. He wrapped his arms around him grabbing fists full of his shirt as Dad began to rub his back. A part of him wanted to break down like a little kid begging him to fix everything. But he held back the tears just focusing on the smell of his shirt and the feeling of the hug.

"You can tell me anything and I promise I won't let _anyone_ treat you less than a human being." Dad barely whispered loud enough for him to hear. He tighten his grip around his dad rubbing the side of his head on his sweatshirt.

"Thank you." He whispered back. Dad gave his back one more, good rub before letting him go.


	16. Chapter 16

_Get down!_ His head screamed.

"Dad look out!" He tackled him to the ground. Right then a shot sounded and the ground right where Dad was standing blew up dirt and left a small crater from the impact. A scorched ring outlined the impacted zone. Katherine let out a scream. Basil rolled off his chest letting him look at the bullet hole.

"JB are you alright?" Katherine called as the others ran up to them. They got up, Dad nodding.

"Yea I'm fine, thanks to Basil." He turned to face him directly.

"Basil you saved my life!" Dad beamed a grateful smile at him. He was right. If he didn't tackle him out of the way that would have been an instant kill. _That's nothing compared to how you saved mine so many times._

"How did you know that shot was coming?" Chip asked. Basil hesitated before answering,

"The moon told me." Matt laughed and wrapped an arm over his shoulders putting weight on his neck.

"That's my brother for you now! A regular moon mind!" He laughed again. It wasn't a mean laugh but a friendly one. He looked at him with new questions arising in his head. _Who fired that shot and why were they aiming for Dad? Gary? Hodge? Their new boss?_ After his laugh Matt let him go.

"From what I know that shot came from higher up and at an angle." Chip bent down and examined the hole. The scorched ring around the hole was a dead giveaway that the gun was from their time period.

"We need to get out of here! I don't want to have another bullet wound." Johan started to panic. _You don't need to worry about that since there was no actual bullet._

"Johan calm down. Panicking won't help." Dad told him soothingly.

"We should go and check out the woods. If anything the trees will provided cover." A hint of medieval accent slipped in Chip's voice. From a rational view that made sense but his mind was telling him to stay out in the open. _It can't be that we'll lose connect. I've been in the forest a ton of times at night and had no problem feeling the moon. It has to be something else._

"No we need to stay in the opening." Basil said confident.

"But we'll have cover in the woods and besides the shooter was probably up in a tree and must still be in the forest!" Chip countered.

"That's one of the reasons why we need to stay out here! Make him come to us. There's no way he could have made that shot from the center of the forest, not through all the trees. He must've been near the edge were he would have a clear shot! He managed to get the first shot because we weren't aware of him. Now that he knows that we know he's there, he's not going to come out." Basil argued. Chip clinched his hands in fists. _He's not used to people challenging him. He must've been some military leader back the dark ages. A king maybe?_ Basil figured. He turned to Dad for the final decision, like a criminal waiting for the jury.

"Both of you make fair points." Dad said in the same tone when he was settling an argument back at home. "But the woods are our best chance at figuring out what's going on." He sounded apologetic towards him. He shook his head in disagreement.

" _You_ go! I'll stay here." Basil stood his ground.

"Basil." Dad warned gently shaking his head disapprovingly.

"Naw you go, I'll stay with him. I mean this in the nicest way possible but I trust Basil more than someone I just met. And besides he has a knack with this kind of stuff. He's proved it more than once." Matt defended him. _Matt! Thank you!_ Dad tossed his hands up in defeat letting them flop down hitting his legs.

"Alright. You two stay here and we'll check out the woods." He sighed in defeat but headed for the first row of three about twenty yards behind him. The three fallowed behind him. He wanted to convince them that it was a bad idea but it was clear they wouldn't listen. Once they were out of ear shot Matt asked,

"So what now?" Basil didn't know. All he knew was going in the forest was a bad idea. He turned back to the moon again hoping for an answer but it stayed silent. _Oh sure, now your quite._ Basil shrugged his shoulders.

"Beats me but I really don't trust the forest. I get why they did it but I wish they didn't." Basil watched the trees were they entered and disappeared.

"I've been thinking. If we can figure out when all of this started we can figure out something that might be they- if not- a cause for all of this." Matt suggested. He took the idea in with open arms.

"What do we know? Gary and Hodge messed up time by kidnapping important kids from history then crashed them in twenty-first century. Dad pulled me out before the time crash ever existed adding to the damage." Basil directed his gaze thinking hard. Then his eyes snapped back up.

"The night Dad told us about the kidnapping was the same night I remembered! And the same night Gary and Hodge broke out of prison I had a dream about that and they met up with a new boss!" Basil nearly shouted. They were getting to something here. He just knew it!

"So somehow everything that's been going on with whole missing kid from history is affecting you." Matt tilted his head upward towards the sky clearly thinking hard.

"But not time so much as _space_! The moon is part of space not necessarily time." He panted.

"But what does that have to do with your mystery boss?" Matt questioned. Basil went silent not knowing either.

"I don't know but I do _know_ he's related to all of this." He said looking him dead in the eye.


	17. Chapter 17

The sounds of footsteps approached but it wasn't a sound he recognized. They were too heavy for it to be Dad or the others and they would have called out to them once they got out of the woods. A fear, a panic snatched him. They turned to see a man who was defiantly not Dad not twenty feet from them. He was bigger with well-tuned muscles where the white button down shirt didn't cover. Even that wasn't fully buttoned, the top was exposed enough to see his collar bones. A loosely tied black tie was wrapped around his neck. A black coat hanged around his shoulders. His shirt was tucked into his black dress pants with belt that had a silver belt buckle. Black boots came up to his knee caps. The man's black hair was sprawled across his head like he was standing in a wind storm. Part of his long bangs feel between his eyes, resting on the bridge of his nose. Darkly discolored skin covered his left eye all the way to the hairline and ear. Another patch sat on the back of his jaw on the opposite side. It was the eyes that really caught Basil. They were brown, a brown he recognized, and they still held the menacing gaze. This was the same man from his nightmare. Gary and Hodge's new boss.

"Who are you?" Matt asked totally innocent. But the man didn't answer he just stared straight at Basil, not moving a muscle. A well timed wind blew across the empty field. His coat lifting off his body then landing peacefully back in place. _Dad where are you?!_ His mind screamed.

"Don't get in my way!" The man spoke his eyes never leaving Basil. The way he spoke was just as frightening as his eyes. It was bold and demanded to be respected. _Now wonder Gary and Hodge are willing to do whatever he says. This guy is terrifying!_ He turned around his coat bouncing up and down as he walked. Before he covered half the distance to get to the woods he vanished.

"What was that about?" Matt asked still looking at where he vanished. Basil didn't answer. _I heard of being scared stiff but is there a thing of being scared petrified?_

"Basil?" Matt asked seeing Basil wasn't moving.

"That-that was him! Gary and Hodge's new boss!" He stammered. Matt's eyes went big. Another voice came from the direction the man was, but it was a voice he recognized.

"Well that was a waste of time! We didn't find anything!" Dad shouted as he emerged from the trees.

"Really because we found something." Matt said once they were all together again.

"You did! What?" Johan questioned. But before either of them could reply everything went black and his connection with the moon was broken.

"We're traveling through Outer Time again." Katherine complained.

"But are we heading forward or backwards?" He could hear Chip's voice.

"Neither. We're heading back to the time hallow." The glow of the Elucidator lit up Dad's face as he hovered over it. He was right because that was the next he saw. It was the same one. Their school bags sat in the corner right where they left them. And the pain in his stomach came back to.

"Why does that keep happening? None of us were touching each other." Johan asked. Dad shook his head just as confused.

"Hold on a minute, Matt said they met someone back there, whenever that was." Katherine intervened then turned her gaze at Matt. He nodded,

"Basil said it was Gary and Hodge's boss." Before he could continue everyone exploded. They were talking all at once saying they should've run or called from them or sceamed.

"The thing was he only seemed to be interested in Basil not me to." Matt cut their rant short. Dad shook his head violently from side to side. They got into their own conversation leaving Matt and Basil out. Once again Matt took him to the side where they could talk.

"This is getting out of hand faster than I originally thought." He said in ad normal serious tone. All Basil could do was nod. The pain in his stomach was coming more of an annoying cramp. Out of the blue it went from annoyance to hurt straight to 'kill me now'. He couldn't help but scream in pain clutching his stomach. His shoulder slammed against the wall as he slid to his knees, Matt right there the entire time. He tipped over and rubbed the side of his face on the floor as he curled up.

"Dad!" Matt shouted but he was already running over. He squeezed his eyes shut blocking all the light out. He could feel Dad put a hand on his shoulder and forced him to roll on his back. The entire time his body resisted.

"Basil I'm trying to help you! Don't fight me!" Dad shouted above his screaming. He forced himself to the best he could to relax his body as Dad pulled up his shirt. Suddenly there was something cold and smooth rubbing all around his stomach.

"This can't be happening!" Dad murmured.

"JB what's happening?!" Katherine demanded again.

"His organs are disappearing! Alright!" He shouted back. There was a loud 'what?!' with four different voices mixed in. The pain slowly started dying down, but the tears lingered so did the object on his stomach.

"Thankfully nothing too important is missing. It was only the most minor ones." Dad stopped shouting and started talking normally again now that he wasn't screaming bloody murder. The warm returned to his stomach as his shirt was pulled back down. He kept panting covering his eyes with his arm.


	18. Chapter 18

That was the most painful thing he ever experienced. It was worse than being beaten before the point of unconscious just to tear his insides open with a rusty knife. Death would have been merciful. He took his arm away from his face so Dad could help him sit up.

"Are you still in pain?" Dad asked rubbing his back. He shook his head still not ready to talk.

"Did the new boss dude do this?" Katherine directed the question at Matt. He shook his head in reply,

"He couldn't have. He was just standing there." Now it was his turn to ask a question.

"If we could get him home Mom could help him right?" Dad didn't answer right away. He gripped both of his arms helping him to stand back on his feet.

"I don't how she would be able to do anything about this." Dad spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. Basil put a hand over his stomach. When he would press in the right spots he could feel the emptiness. _If this happened, what will stop the others from disappearing?_ It turns out he wasn't the only one thinking about this.

"How is this even possible? Nothing is supposed to change in a time hallow!" Johan said is voice being tossed everywhere. Good question, so what's the answer?

"We also didn't think time could stop either." Katherine reminded him. All of this was happening too fast. Half of his brain was considering lying back on the floor and close his eyes and try to forget all about this. But how could he when his life was in danger. Absolutely none of this made sense! _When did this all start? The time crash or me bumping my head and remembering?_ He didn't know which but he was starting to wish none of them happened. Why did all of this happen to him? He was a no one. His own birth parents crashed him into a wall on purpose killing him at two weeks of age. Dad put a hand on his shoulder steadying him. He leaned into his side for extra support not trusting his knees.

"What were you looking at when we got sucked back in time?" Basil looked up at Dad finally trusting himself to speak. Johan, Chip and Katherine's eyes went wide. With his other hand Dad pulled out his Elucidator and the screen flashed on the wall. It was the clearing they were just in. The moon was still glowing bright and didn't seemed to move any. Oh how he longed to have the connection restored.

"The Elucidator is still broken, it won't tell when or where this is." Dad sighed. _Broken or just won't tell?_

"Arg! This is frustrating! Does anyone remember which way we fell?" Johan extended his arm at the screen while his body faced them.

"Why do people always think of time as a straight line? I understand why but that's not exactly the case." Basil stopped leaning on his dad and took a step forward towards the screen. "I always thought of time travel more as walking through a dark forest at night, the path lit by a single candle. You can only see what's happening ahead and to the side of you but that doesn't mean everything is frozen the moment you walk by. It still grows, changes. We don't detect the changes because there so subtle. We're too stubborn to except changes when we go back and spot them because we want to see the same thing if we turn around…I don't care what time this is in or where because when you go through time the past has no changed to the present. And who knows what could happen in the future." He turned around to face everyone. Katherine was looking at him with the same look Bridgette looked at her favorite toy. It was actually creeping him out a bit. Everyone else stayed stone faced and saying a word.

"I'm really glad you're on our side." Johan grinned. Chip gaze kept steady on him watching his every little move.

"How is it that you can turn the most depressing questions and gave such an optimistic answer?" Dad flashed a proud smile at him. _And I'm going to figure out what space has to do with all of this!_ This was the most confidence he had in a long time. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this confident.

"So what's our next move?" Chip asked.

"That's the million dollar question isn't?" Basil answered.


	19. Chapter 19

They agreed to keep looking through the time stream to see if they could spot any more anomalies. Basil kept a hand on his stomach afraid the pain would return. An alarm went off in 1490. Chip had a worried and happy look on his face.

"What's the anomaly?" Chip faced JB, his body slightly shaking. Basil never liked the middle ages. He always found everyone idiotic and incapable of doing anything for themselves. He always understood why things happened but never understood the 'why'. If this anomaly meant actually going there they would always be charging at each other. Dad had his head down over the Elucidator, his face smashed in puzzlement.

"I don't know. It won't tell me." He answered.

"Well let's go and find out!" Chip said almost giddy. Dad gave him a hard look, then shook his head.

"I don't think you should Chip."

"But we'll need his help when were over there!" Johan instantly argued. Chip nodded franticly supporting Johan.

"Besides it's like what – five years after Edward died. And we'll still have invisibility won't we?" Katherine raise her arms pointing at him. Chip winced when she mentioned that Edward was dead.

"That's right we didn't try invisibility on our last trip!" Johan added before Dad got a chance to speak. He looked down at the Elucidator then back up.

"It's that we'll be invisible but that's not the reason. Chip I know you remember how bent you were on getting the crown before." Chip turned pale but Dad continued. "I just don't think you're mentally able to do this."

"I'll be fine! Really!" He reassured him. But Basil could pick out the uncertainty in his voice.

"Alright." Dad gave in. He tapped the screen for a few seconds and they were traveling through time again. A hand fell on his shoulder. He recognized the soft and steadiness of his dad.

"Basil how are you doing?" His voice was genital.

"I'm fine…And if I feel any pain I'll tell you right away." This was enough to relax Dad and himself to a certain degree. _Dad will take care of me if it happens again._ His hand stayed on his shoulder till the light of 1490 rushed to greet them.

As Johan, Chip, and Katherine got over their time sickness he was scoping out the landing zone. Matt had a mild case but got over it fast. For some unknown reason he didn't get the sickness this time or the last. The moment they landed he could feel the moon again. They were tucked in a side street looking crystalized. Chip was the first of the three to be back on his feet. His faced beamed as he looked around at the stone walls and streets. He still didn't trust Chip to be back in this timeframe. He could still the kid dreaming of wearing the crown. Chip was too much of liability hazard. Dad had the same uncertain look on his face as well. _I hope Dad knows what he's doing._ Basil sighed, of course there's nothing else he can to do but hope.

"It feels weird being back here without Rich- er I mean Alex." Chip commented looking around the corner were people were buzzing around doing their own thing. Katherine propped herself up by her elbows. Johan was on his feet offering his sister a hand.

"Alright let's go. Chip I need you to keep an extra close eye to help me spot anything wrong. And I mean with time not politics." Dad looked him dead in the making sue he understood.

"Come on then!" Chip eagerly ran into the street. This was already not starting very well. If he didn't like the medieval ages he really didn't like it now. The rancid small coming from the vendors and street was bad enough to make his stomach sick. _If whatever is going on isn't going to take my stomach, this sure might!_ Chip was running around from stand to stand like a kid at a circus. The sight of a little kid, about a toddler, with his arms reaching upwards to his mother added to the image. A small whine escaped his mouth, his pleaded to be held. When he was about this kid's age he'd done the same thing. _I guess somethings are just human instincts._ The mother scooped him up, his legs wrapping around her thin waist and his arm around her neck.

"All of this was supposed to have been mine." Chip said once they were out of the crowd.

"No it wasn't." Dad's voice soft almost sympathetic, almost. "Remember you were supposed to have originally died five years ago even in normal time." Basil could tell his voice was like that because he didn't want to be overheard.

"I'll never understand why people are willing shed their own or other people's blood for a hunk of metal." Basil blurted out before he realized what he said.

"What do you mean by that?" Chip said instantly mad. _He thinks I'm insulting his time's culture... Am I?_ Basil kept his calm composers like he would normally do against Marris.

"I just don't get why people actually go to war to be the most hated man in the country. Think about, if something goes wrong who's the first to be blamed? The king. Those who died peacefully knew that people hated him and feared from it." Chip looked ready to plunge a sword into him. Basil knew it didn't matter how mad he was, he wasn't going to do anything. Not without destroying time completely. Katherine gripped his arm.

"Chip that's just his opinion don't get so worked up." She tried to reason with him. The glare softened but the anger remained in his eyes. _Even if he did live long enough to be king he wouldn't have last long with that short fuse._ Basil studied Chip's expression. _He wants to insult me back but he doesn't know anything. He knows nothing about my time and he can't insult the twenty-first century because that's where he lives._ For right now it was game, set, match.


	20. Chapter 20

It was late afternoon when they landed and now the sun was being set. Basil could feel the first pinpricks of the moon coming out. They've been walking around the market place still not able to find the anomaly. It was becoming frustrating having to dodge everyone while they walked and still try to spot a single thing wrong in an entire town. This gave the expression "finding a needle in haystack" a whole new meaning.

"Let's take a break in the empty black smith's place." Matt whispered. Chip lead them to the back of the shop so they could talk in peace.

"We need a better idea of what we're looking for. All we're doing is running around like chickens with our heads cut off." Johan said. Basil leaned back on the wooden table that was covered in different hunks of metal. From finished swords to actual hunks of metal waiting to be forged. As he grip the edge of the table his hand touched something all too familiar. It was smooth and cool. The heel of his hand grazed a tubular surface that was rougher than the rest. He turned his head to conform his thinking. It was his Metal Edge. He pulled it out of the pile by its handle.

"That's not supposed to be here." Dad said normally but his eyes held all the concern.

"Why? It's just a deformed sword. Scrap metal." Chip said confidently.

"No its not, it's my Metal Edge. What's this doing here?" He ran his thumb over the long end extremely surprised to find the blade was out. The edge was never very thick. Only about two centimeters long. _How was this even possible? It was only supposed to come out during his match when the stadium activated. When not in use the blade should be retracted back inside._ He needed to test it so he eyed the tips of Chip's bangs. His eyes never leaving his target, his arm lashed out. It was a straight jab staying just away from the skin on his forehead. The strike was so quick no one had time to react. It cleanly cut off a centimeter off. Everyone watched the hairs float to the dirty floor.

"This has to be the anomaly it has to be." Basil pulled the Metal Edge back. Chip stumbled back till his back slammed against the wall putting a hand over his heart.

"What the heck was that for?! You could've killed me!" He shouted as he panted.

"Sorry about that, I had to test it out to see if it was the actual blade or some kind of fake." Basil apologized. Chip took a several deep breaths and cleared his throat.

"Well thou has some experience with that weapon." The medieval accent came back.

"Yea you're really good!" Katherine chimed. The compliment didn't seem to set with Chip. _By complimenting me does he think that Katherine isn't impressed by him anymore or just jealous?_ The last thing he needs is to get into relationship drama. But either way he wanted to get out of the room filled with weapons even though he could easily take him. Basil just shrugged his shoulders,

"I've had a lot of practice." Matt gave him a friendly laughing.

"Basil is an expert with the Metal Edge! The fact he fights with such a strange weapon always throws people off. You should've seen him in his last match!" Matt supported him with a smile.

"Thanks Matt but there's no need to brag." _Yea because if you do that will only make Chip hate me more._ Then he noticed that Dad was still staring at the Metal Edge in his hands. He squinted his eyes thinking hard.

"Who put it here?" He muttered. Basil looked back at the weapon. For years he had trained to use it but now it was an old friend that he only had a vague memory of that returned.

"We found the anomaly so shouldn't we get back to the time hallow?" Johan spoke up. Dad pulled out the Elucidator that was mimicking a rock.

"It won't let us!" His brow scrunched in puzzlement.

"Please don't say we have to live here for years or the rest of our lives!" Katherine whined. Basil wanted to whine to but Katherine was doing enough for the both of them.

"Maybe we just have to wait a little bit. Last time we all went back to the time hallow after Basil and I met Gary and Hodge's boss." Matt suggested.

"I agree with Matt. The Elucidator isn't letting us leave for a reason. We need to figure out what that is." Basil nodded. He hooked the Metal Edge on his belt by the handle. The last bit of daylight faded and the moon took over. The connection felt normal not like how it did when they were in that clearing. _So what now? What's needs to happen?_ He questioned.

"Who's king now anyway?" Johan asked Dad.

"King Henry the seventh." He sighed. Basil could hear Chip mutter that it was supposed to have been him. _He's still hanging on to that?_ That made him even more wanted to get out of this time and go anywhere else.


	21. Chapter 21

A terrifying thought struck him like a truck.

"Wait! What if the Metal Edge isn't the only anomaly? What if something else is wrong?" Basil raised a hand stopping everyone. Without a warning a sharp pain stung his stomach. He clutched it as he reached out for something to grab on to. The first thing he touched was Dad's arm. He held on to it like a lifeline.

"It's…happening…again!" He spoke through clinched teeth. Dad helped him sit down only for him to roll onto the floor. The pain flared up to point where he wanted to scream again. Somehow the pain was even worse than before. The only thing stopping him was Dad's hand covering his mouth the lower part of his nose. His shirt slid up to his chest as the Elucidator rubbed against his stomach. Tears began to run down to his ears and the floor. _Daddy help me!_ His mind screamed.

"He lost some parts of his stomach and intestines…along with a small, half dime sized hole in his left lung." Dad said quiet enough just for everyone to hear. Part of his lung was gone? No wonder deep breaths hurt. The instant the Elucidator was off his skin, he flipped to the side drawing his legs up, sliding Dad's hand off his mouth. New tears slid down to drip next to him. He didn't scream or yell, all he could do was take in air to make new tears and grip his stomach. Dad put hand on his arm rubbing it and he choked out a small cry. This wasn't fair! Why was all of this happening to him? Why not anyone else?

"We _have_ to get him back home!" Basil cracked an eye open to see Dad messing with the Elucidator. Home. No word had ever sounded so nice. It was enough to ease the pain a bit. He suddenly felt very cold and his body shivered in the warm air. _How can I be cold? It has to be like the middle of summer!_ A soft warm object landed on top of him. There was a familiar smell to it. _Dad's sweatshirt?_ He wanted to say "Help me" but he couldn't get his mouth to move. His eyes became heavy then they shut leaving him in darkness.

Katherine was about to scream out Basil's name but Johan covered her mouth so all that came out was "B-".

"Katherine don't shout! He's just a sleep. See?" He pointed out. She tore his off her mouth.

"Probably from his body trying to heal itself." JB said staring down at the sleeping Basil. Basil's chest slowly raised then fell in a rhythmic pattern. He looked like he was sleeping in bed without the bed. JB took his sweatshirt off Basil and wrapped it around his waist. He picked him up and slug him on his back. His head and arms dangling over his shoulders and grabbed his legs, like a weird piggy-back. Basil didn't react at all during the movement.

"He's going to be alright right Dad?" Matt asked truly concerned for his brother. He would be the same if it was Katherine in Basil's possession. JB gave his other son a hard look then answered,

"Yes!" Matt sighed and smiled weakly. When he first saw Basil and Matt he thought time was completely broken. He was a bit surprised to hear they weren't biologically JB's. They defiantly looked like they could be. They got out of the shop and wondered around looking for a place to sleep and the other anomaly. The moon glowed brightly enough so they weren't stumbling around. It looked like a white close by planet with the dark spots. When Basil confessed about his connection he thought he was nuts or somehow got his head hurt. After they came back from the forest he wasn't sure about that anymore. Basil looked absolutely terrified. A kind that can't be fake. If only they had one direct link like he was used to.

"Chip where would the best place to hide be?" He asked keeping his voice to a whisper just in case. The streets were virtually empty except for the few stragglers heading for their homes.

"Fallow me." JB said over his shoulder, the one where Basil's head wasn't dangling. For someone carrying another person he moved pretty fast.

Everything was dark and barren. Then there was the smallest flash of light. Basil focused on were the flash was. He started to doubt he ever saw it but then another flash came even brighter than before. _I saw that! I defiantly saw that! Now questions asked._ The flash returned and kept returning as pulse. Each wave became bigger and more intense till he was force to shut and cover his eyes. When the light died down he found himself staring at a planet completely see through of the most clear blue and purple light. It looked more like a perfect frozen bubble than a planet. A ring of white light erupted off the planet then rushed off violently into space. The bubble planet exploded after the ring left. All neighboring planets were smashed into pieces by the light. The debris smashed into other planets, pelleting them till they were completely destroyed. The ripple effect continued all across till only darkness remained. Time and space were completely destroyed. Basil stared the emptiness his body racking.

"This hasn't happened! It a dream-no a nightmare! That's all it is. With everything that has been happening it wouldn't be a shock of I saw this. I'm just under all of stress that's all." Basil told himself. With each statement his body calmed down till he was perfectly fine. He didn't even the slightest bit panicked.

"So he passed." A voice echoed around him. It wasn't one he recognized.

"Your rationality is very impressive. I can see why it's you." Another voice giggled. Seeing that was some sort of test? A test for what? This makes less sense than his organ vanishing.

"What's going on?" He asked the voices forcing his voice to sound casual. _I really must be losing it_

"Not yet." The first voice answered. There was another powerful flash. He blinked a few times to have his eyes readjust. Now that light was more natural than white. There was a sound of muttering voices. But not the two from before. These sounded familiar. He tilted his head to find it was resting on something soft. Basil concentrated on just bringing his vision back. Dad was looking down at him. He looked relieved. A hand stroked the top of his head. _Oh my head's on Dad's lap. No wonder he was coming from the side._

"It's nice to see you're awake again." Dad smiled. _So it was all just a dream. Thank God! I never want to go through that again!_

"Basil you're ok!" Katherine cheered.

"You really had us worried there." Chip stood next to Katherine.

"Can you stand?" Johan asked.

"Yea just give me a minute." He said weakly. Really all he wanted to do right now was staying lying down with Dad stroking his head. But everyone needed him up and about.


	22. Chapter 22

But he still laid there for an extra moment enjoying the calm. Dad's stroking was so calming he was almost about to drift back under. He didn't get much rest with the crazy dream.

"How long was I out?" Somehow he managed to speak.

"Ever since you passed out last night. We had to move a lot and the jostling didn't even wake you up. It's seven forty-five now, give or take a few minutes." Dad said continuing his soothing strokes. He was asleep all night and he still get any rest? Wow. The creepy dream and the two voices replayed in his head. _Should I tell them? No, it was just a dream! All of it was just a dream!_ But even now he doubted. His eyes looked past the heads of his friends and family and at the light blue sky. He wished the moon was still out so he could ask but he knew it wouldn't answer. Right now all he wanted is answers. Is that too much to ask for? If all of this is happening-going to happen- to him shouldn't he know why? He forced his body to sit then stand. He owed himself and everyone else to get those answers. But his legs wobbled under him. Matt grabbed his shoulder before he leaned too far to one side. His body felt lighter and emptier. Basil pushed a hand against his stomach his hand sinking farther than it should. He frowned depressingly at the ground. Matt gave him a sad smile then grabbed his arm, wrapping it around his shoulders.

"Thank you." He whispered just loud enough for only Matt to hear. The support was very helpful since his legs were still not working right yet. He took a breath as they walked through the crowds trusting the others made a plan when he was out. It wasn't like he had much choice with Matt being his main support. He wanted to ask what their plan was but he was still too drained and there were too many people to talk. Chip took the lead and led like a man on mission. To keep his mind busy he tried to memorize every detail he could as they weaved through the crowd. But his thoughts kept wondering back to the dream and all his questions. _Did they figure something out when I was asleep? Have I lost anymore organs?_ But the big one was, _When do I get to go home?_ So badly did he want to see his home, crawl into his bed, be a normal kid with a complete set of organs. Thinking about his organs disappearing and what was happening inside made him nauseous. He leaned dangerously far over to the side about to take Matt with him to the ground. Dad ran up and kept him steady.

"Basil let me carry you." He whispered. He was feeling so sick that he didn't care. And besides he was really weighing Matt down. As he hopped on his dad's back he knew his pride should be injured but all he could do was try his best to keep what's left of his stomach down. Basil laid his chin on his shoulder despising the hot weather. _And to think people choice to live here!_ His head rolled over so he looked like Dad was carrying a sleeping toddler on his back. It's a good thing only select people can see this. He closed his eyes and concentrated on keeping breath steady.

"Where are we going?" Somehow he managed to whisper in his ear without throwing up.

"The castle, now shh! Just rest." He whispered back. The castle! What are they thinking! How much did he miss? No matter how much he wanted to argue or question he couldn't so he closed his eyes again falling back to a peaceful rest.

Jesse glanced at the sleeping Basil on his shoulder. This time he actually looked peaceful. Last night when they had to move to a safer spot for the tenth time he looked stressed and concerned. But he was too afraid he might somehow hurt him by waking him up. He hated seeing him in so much pain, so much confusion. After saving him from the burning car and the orphanage it was nearly impossible to see him like this. Literately disappearing right in front of him. This was his son! The person he dedicated years to raise. It wasn't always easy juggling a job and raising three kids. At times he wanted to blow but Basil always managed calm down the situations enough to where he could deal with them rationally. He always like that. Able to bring out the calm from a loud mess. Even when he was little he was a deep thinker. He could answer the big questions using simple terms that anyone could understand. He couldn't wait to what kind of person he would become and proud to say he was his Dad. Jesse swiftly pecked his forehead. The action reminded him of when Brook and he would switch tucking Matt and Basil into bed. They would read a picture book to them then kiss their foreheads goodnight. He loved being a farther far more than a time agent. Saying he saved time wasn't nearly as satisfying as bragging about his kids. Sure they weren't famous kids from history but they were _his_! And that's all that mattered. Now in order to save Basil he would have figure out the biggest mysterious problem the Time Agency will ever face. _Don't worry, we'll figure this!_ He promised. Basil's grip around his neck tighten like he could hear what he was thinking.


	23. Chapter 23

A genital shake woke him up. Basil slowly blinked away the sleep. He was sitting on the ground with his back against a wall.

"Basil come on. Where at the castle." Dad whispered. He stood up but still felt the grogginess. But under that he felt refreshed and ready. _Now that's what I needed!_ He stretched his arms over his head.

"Anyone want to tell me what the plan is?" Basil dropped his arms.

"We didn't find anything in the town so we figured something must be happening to the king." Johan explained.

"But we don't know what that is yet." Katherine added. Basil nodded as Dad checked around the corner. He waved them over. Two guards just walked away from the doors heading around the other corner.

"This is disgraceful! This wouldn't be happening under my rule!" Chip murmured angrily.

"Your enemies' disadvantage is your strength." Basil whispered back. Chip nodded his head in agreement. But Basil wasn't done yet, "Only if you know how to exploit them." The he ran around the corner using his martial arts to stay virtually silent. He almost didn't want to be invisible because he trusted his training that much. But it was handy in case he slipped up. Basil stayed closed the guards' backs. Once they rounded the corner he waited for them to give him some space. Silently grabbing the Metal Edge off his belt he threw it aiming at the large tree near the other end of the courtyard. It flew as quiet as an owl even as it knocked down leaves off the tree and returned to him before the guards saw it. As they went to investigate he waved the other to the door. Dad pressed the something on the Elucidator then he slid the door open without a sound. Chip and Dad led the way up the castle to the higher rooms. They stopped in front of two large double doors.

"This is king's room. Henry should be in here." Dad informed keeping his voice down but it wasn't a whisper. Something told him they were in for a shock. Dad opened the door without a squeak. King Henry was sitting in a chair staring at the opposite wall with a black look on his face. A strand of drool hung in the corner of his mouth. There was a glazed look over his eyes.

"This has to be the other anomaly!" Dad said not bothering keeping voice down.

"JB keep your voice down or he might hear you!" Johan whispered the warning. Dad shook his head.

"I don't have to worry because he _can't_ hear us! He's been the medically induced to be in hypnotic state. Someone from our time has done this to him. This kind of medical science hasn't been achieved in the twenty-first century." Dad looked at the king. Now the question was who. Who would want to have the king of 1490 like this? A shiver crawled up his spine. He spun around to the wall the king was looking at to be right in time to see two people appear. Two people he'd seen before. Gary and Hodge.

"Should've known you would be the one causing us trouble JB." Hodge spoke getting everyone else to turn around.

I can't believe you would do this! Do you have any idea on how many time law this violates?!" Dad shouted. Gary just shrugged to say _so what?_

"What do you think you're doing?" Katherine spoke next her voice still carried the anger but it wasn't a shout.

"Duh! Getting ourselves rich!" Gary spoke to her in a mocking tone. Basil thought it best to take a chance.

"So your new boss has you two as his errand boys." He kept his voice leveled. It was quick and subtle but he could catch the look of dread of fear on their faces.

"Let's get this straight kid, we work for no one but ourselves!" Gary covered. Basil raised his eyebrow in challenge.

"Are you?" He questioned. He didn't want to show all of his cards yet.

"Huh here I thought you'd be the smart one in the group!" Hodge scoffed. Basil picked up on all the secrets they just let out. How could they have known he was the smart one if someone hadn't told them to keep an eye on them? And when they arrived Hodge said he should've known it was Dad causing trouble. How could they have known they were here when they hadn't done anything yet? His eyes caught something on the back of Hodge's belt. A gun from their time. _Did they always have that or did their new boss think they should have that?_ Not even they were dumb enough to kill someone here. Not with time still moving and king right there.

"How is doing this to the king help you get rich?" Matt challenged.

"Details, details." Hodge waved off the question. _So it's not their idea, it's the boss's._

"JB have I ever told you what a cute family you have? Maybe we should bring the others here." Gary taunted. He couldn't imagine Mom and Bridgette here. That would only add to the stress and two more people to worry about. And another parent to worry about him.

"Don't you dare bring them into this!" Dad took a step forward rage on his face. "They shouldn't even be involved!" He pointed at him and Matt.

"Don't you think we agree? The more of you there are the more trouble it is for us. But you know what's it's like when time is screwed up, or should I say what you don't know." Hodge shrugged. Dad looked ready to punch them in face, hard. He even had a rock hard fist at his side. _Easy Dad don't you know they're playing you? Let me deal with their mind games._


	24. Chapter 24

"What are you doing here? What does a shell of king have to do with you getting rich?" Basil baited. Gary looked at like he was studying him. Basil kept a straight face not giving him anything. Or seeing what the boss sees in him.

"Your quiet a nosey kid aren't ya?" He waved the question off like a bug. His stomach started turning a bit. He wasn't sure if he was starting to lose more organs or his stomach was just upset. Either way it was bad timing. _Oh please not now! That last thing we need is me getting sick._ Maybe Mom coming wasn't such a bad idea. She could find out what's causing this and fix it or at least stop the pain. He instantly scowled himself for thinking that. There was no way he would purposely put her in danger because he was feeling bad. No matter how badly he wanted her to hold him close and tell him he was going to be alright.

"Maybe we should just get rid of the pests now." Gary turned to Hodge. He gave him a thoughtful look then looked back at them.

"Yea! Good idea." Hodge pulled out the gun and took aim right on Dad. Basil again was two steps ahead. When Gary made the suggestion he pulled the Metal Edge off his belt and threw it at the pointed gun. As the gun fired its red streak of light it was going in the direction completely different than where Hodge wanted. Basil caught the return weapon effortlessly. Hodge flashed him a disgusted look. So much for them not shooting. His mind went calmer than normal. Everything became so clear and easy to read. Like there was a filter over his eyes and mind that had been removed.

"Let's make this a fair fight shall we?" He kept a calm gaze at the two. Another shot fired but this time at him. He easily deflected the shot upward.

"Don't just stand there, protect the king." Basil looked back at the others directing another shot at the ground. "I'll handle them." He turned back to his two oppositions. Gary had pulled out his Elucidator but Dad leapt at him tackling him to the ground. The two wrestled on the ground, slamming their fists into each other. Gary's Elucidator disappeared in the fight. His focus went back to Hodge. He threw the Metal Edge again, it knocked Hodge's aim as he fired, running at full speed at him while all of this happened. Basil jumped up dodging a shot, grabbed the Metal Edge right out of the air, and slashed down at Hodge. The blade sliced through the metal of the gun. An obvious cut scared the vertical center. Electricity jumped out of the damaged area. Hodge tossed the gun away in disgusted and threw a punch at his head. A simple duck was all it took to dodge the oncoming attack. He slipped the Metal Edge back on his belt to make it a fair fight. No matter how bad Hodge was he didn't want to see him dead. Basil snuck in and ram his elbow into his gut. Hodge buckled. Basil jumped up, ramming his knee in the soft part of his under jaw. Hodge flashed back up gripping his jaw. A hard kick hit knee throwing Basil of balance. Hodge slammed a fist in his ear knocking him over. Basil swung his legs knocking Hodge's out from under him. While Hodge was still down he looked over at Dad's fight. Blood was smeared on the floor. Gary sat on top of him repeatedly pounding his fist into him. Dad had one arm holding Gary's left, using his right to try block the blows. Blood dripped from his nose and the skin around his left eye turning dark. It was too much to take in, seeing his dad being beaten up in front of him.

"Dad!" He shouted. Scrambling back up, he dashed over. Once in range he jumped forward jutting his elbow out tucking his head in for the blow. It felt like ramming into a rusty steel wall. It feel but it hurt. Gary threw his arm back planning on smashing his face with it. Basil grabbed it only to be right were his dad was a moment ago. But unlike him he grabbed the strong fist before it made contact. It became a test of strength and Gary clearly had the advantage. Gary suddenly snapped his head back and rolled off of him. When he saw Chip swinging the sword he understood why. His first instinct was to check on Dad. Matt kneeled down next to him as Dad checked the severity of the wounds. He looked back at Chip who held the sword up at Gary ready and waiting for his next move. There was something different about Chip, there was a look in his eyes that wanted to see Gary bleed. Now not only had he have to stop Gary and Hodge, now he also had to prevent Chip drawing blood.

"Chip put the sword away!" He shouted.

"Oh now you're the only one to have a weapon!" Chip spat. Basil shook his head. He thought Chip of everyone would understand never attack someone defenseless. Basil grasped the Metal Edge and stood up just to push the sword's blade down. Chip glared at him.

"Let's get out of here!" Gary shouted grabbing the Elucidator off the floor. Then Gary and Hodge disappeared.


	25. Chapter 25

Despite Chip's death glare he went over to check on Dad. Matt was helping him back to his feet. His fingers dabbed at the blood at his nose.

"Dad are you alright?" Basil asked looking up at him. He nodded. A hand grabbed his shoulder spinning him around to see angry Chip.

"What was that for?" He screamed at his face. Calmly answering,

"You couldn't be trusted with the sword. I could see the look in your eyes. Tell me if I'm wrong, you wanted to kill him by your hand." Basil looked at him directly in the eye. Chip tighten his grip around the sword's hilt and glared at him.

"What would know?! They're criminals, they deserve it!" He shouted again. Basil didn't flinch.

"I was afraid of this. This is why I was so hesitant to bring you back here Chip." Dad walked up to them. Chip's face turned red. Basil calmly waited for the explosion and the fiery fallout. Chip yelled an angry shout and swung the sword. Basil raise the Metal Edge. The tip struck the flat of the blade, redirecting the blade harmlessly upward. Chip watched the raised blade his body quaking. Basil closed his eyes giving Chip a moment but he opened them again and a second later he spoke,

"So that's the kind of king you would have been. As soon as someone doubted you or told the opposite of what you wanted to hear, you kill them. You're far from controlling your emotions. England would have been at its most vulnerable with you on the throne…I don't believe people should die so savagely. I don't believe the world can't be saved. Adding ice to a cold world will only bring disappear." Chip lowered the sword letting it fall against the floor.

"What would you know? You didn't grow up knowing that you were destined for the throne only to have it stolen from you! To have everyone but one person turn their back on you before you even got a chance! To have your life saved by a time traveler!" Chip shouted his body shaking. Basil gave a hard look before answering.

"Chip, I know exactly what it is like. I remember how I was supposed to have died. And I didn't even travel back in time to do it. My birth parents purposely crashed a car I was in just to see what would happen, I was only two weeks old at the time. If my dad didn't step in and saved me from the fire I wouldn't be here." Basil put a hand on his shoulder. "Chip, if someone turns their back on you, they're not worth having on your team. But killing someone just because you're angry at them isn't the right way to do it." Chip looked hard at him, then at the ground, then back it him. He nodded taking in a deep breath. Johan cleared his throat.

"Shouldn't we fix the king then find a way out of here." Dad nodded at the suggestion.

He walked over and kneeled in front of the king. This guy didn't even look like he could see anything straight without someone helping him nor less run a country. Dad wiped blood from his nose on the back of his hand then tapped something on the Elucidator. A medical syringe appeared in his hand. He rolled up the king's sleeve and injected the needle. Once he rolled down the king's sleeve, Dad pressed the Elucidator one more time and they were again back in the time hallow.

"Is that it? Can we go home?" Katherine questioned Dad. Basil's heart started picking up speed at the thought of home. The place where his family was. Mom would figure out what's wrong with him then fix it. But he felt that was a far-fetched idea. He had to be the first case of disappearing organs ever! Anytime he got sick she knew exactly what he had and the best and fastest way to treat it. She was an incredible doctor and Mom. In fact she was so good at her job the Time Agency would call her for a medical help. But that had its downsides. On rare occasions she would be called back to work on her off time. And it could be any were from a few hours to the next day when they could see her again. Thankfully that was only about once a year. Basil put a hand on his abdomen feeling it fall in.

"Basil you're not feeling sick again are you?" Dad asked instantly worried. Basil took his hand off his hand off his stomach.

"No. Just thinking about Mom and home." He admitted. Dad pulled him in for a side hug. It was just the comfort he needed. Basil looked up to see that Dad had wiped all the blood away from his face.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but I wish I was back in school." He chuckled.

"Tell me about it!" Matt chuckled with him. At least Matt and Dad were still the same.

"So did we fix time?" Johan asked. Dad released him and checked his Elucidator. He shook his head and sighed in frustration.

"No!" He looked ready to throw it at the wall. _Oh please don't!_ Basil begged.

"But why?" Katherine whined. "We fixed the king and stopped Gary and Hodge!" Chip shook his head.

"No. We only prevented them from what they were going to do to him next. We didn't catch them!" Chip sounded like his normal self again. It was refreshing.

"It's possible it's not Gary and Hodge we have to worry about destroying time, maybe it's their new boss." Matt suggested before Dad could do anything.

"But we have no idea when or where he is." Dad argued back. That was true. _Maybe if we go back in time at night I could get some sort of clue from the moon._ Basil thought. It was strange as referring to the moon like an actual person. He was glad he was starting to get used to it. Basil really felt disconnected and off without it. It had been his one friend in all time frames.


	26. Chapter 26

They debated on what to do next. Johan and Katherine thought it might help if they kept checking the time stream. Dad was afraid if they did they would be sent back against their will like the first time. Basil didn't care what they did as long as it was the fastest way to get back into time. They finally agreed to check the rest of the time stream seeing that they didn't have any other options. After screening the rest of time they found nothing. Dad looked ready to punch the wall and maybe put a hole in it.

"This is _beyond_ frustrating!" He grabbed his hair and started pacing.

"Calm down Dad. Getting angry won't help anything." Basil told him watching pace the length of five steps then turn around just to repeat the process.

"Yea. This reminds me of the game against this unknown team. No matter where we hit the ball they always seemed to know where we were going to hit it. And when we were in the field they hit everywhere we weren't. We were completely stumped on what to do." Matt said his eyes looking up at the ceiling in remembrance. Something about that tickled his brain.

"Yea but you won that game due to your grand slam!" Dad argued. Basil didn't listen to him and thought deeply on what Matt just said.

"Wait! Matt say that again! The part about the other team." He turned to face him.

"The part about where they were everywhere we weren't?" Matt asked confused. Basil nodded excitedly.

"Exactly! Gary and Hodge and certainly their boss isn't going to send us to time that interferes with their plans! My bet is that the king drama is what the boss wanted. It was a diversion! That's why he sent Gary and Hodge. Think about it, they didn't do anything but mess with us…and try to kill Dad. Gary and Hodge messed with the king on purpose so we would come and try to fix it! The boss wanted to keep us busy while he was doing something else. The question now is what." Basil explained, the more he talked the more the others started realizing this.

"Basil you are a genus!" Dad smiled, picked him and spun him around. He set him back down looking more pumped than ever.

"So do you know what time period he went to?" Chip asked with a smile on his face as well.

"Yea I believe so! He went to the one time period we would never had expected." Basil nodded. "He went to the moment after you guys were brought here. He went to the twenty-first century!" Johan, Katherine and Chip's eyes went huge after they just heard what he said.

"Why would he want to go to our time?" Katherine squinted. Basil shrugged his shoulders.

"Beats me!" He turned to face Dad now. "Dad didn't you said they appeared after you checked their time? So my thinking is he wanted you to be so distracted with time going on the fritz that you would forget about the twenty-first century because it's supposed to be a 'safe' time!" He nodded his head signaling he was fallowing along. Dad messed with the Elucidator again and once more they were traveling through time. Because Katherine was standing next to him he could hear her mutter to Johan: "Do you think Mom and Dad are alright?"

"Basil do you know exactly where the boss will be after we land?" Matt asked him.

"I don't know right now." He admitted but he continued. "But I will as soon as we land!" The thought of being connected again to the moon made his heart frantic. Anything that got him closer to going home made him happy. _Beat the boss and get to go home!_ The light surged up at them. His skin felt numb but that was it. He watched as the light faded to view a sidewalk in front of a house. The view became bigger and clearer. Then he felt the nothingness come to an end. He angled his legs so he wouldn't land in a heap on the ground. Basil bent his knees as soon as his feet touched solid ground. So landed in kneeling position. His skin instantly revived. The others landed in a heap next to him. Dad was the only one besides him who didn't take the exit hard.

"You know I don't think I'll ever understand how you don't get time sick. Even I get a little dizzy at the end there." Dad smiled at him. He looked up at the sky, it was late evening. The sun was already behind the house. The sky itself was a bright orange fading to a blue and black. It reminded him of Dad's eye. His mind flared with the connection to the moon. _Welcome back._ He stood back up and faced the other side of the street were the moon glowed high in the sky. Basil stared up and down the street admiring the porch lights shining back the darkness and giving each house a soft glow. It was a peaceful sight. Picture perfect. It was warm with no breeze. _Would I have lived in a home like this on a street like this if I wasn't killed?_ Basil shook the thought out of his head. He loved his family and his home was very similar to these. In his mind's eye he could see Matt and him playing basketball in the front. When the others got on their feet and didn't look so sick they stood in poorly formed circle.

"Your parents are going to want you to come in really soon. But when you can sneak out and meet us here. While Matt, Basil you two are going to scope around the neighborhood to see if you can't spot anything. I'll get in touch with Angela to see if she can help us." Dad spoke looking at each one of them when he said their tasks.

Matt and Basil ended up walking Chip back down the street to his house. Chip walked behind them by half a step.

"See ya soon Chip!" Matt said looking back still walking down the sidewalk. A hand fell on his shoulder stopping. Basil turned around to see what Chip.

"I'm sorry." He said. "I'm sorry that I lost control of myself back in 1490. I was just upset that I can't seem to win at any life!" Basil gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Hey isn't being alive winning enough?" He said in a friendly tone. "What do you say that we live the hatched back in 1490? I didn't mean to judge back there." Chip shook his head.

"No. I needed to hear that no matter how much I didn't want to. I'm _truly_ glad that you're on our side!" Basil nodded then waved so long and ran up to catch up with Matt.


	27. Chapter 27

"Well at least it's a nice night out." Matt pillowed his head with his arm as they walked.

"Sure is." He watched the silent well lit homes. Until he was about six he was afraid of any and everything that went bump in the night. On those scared sleepless nights he would walk over to his parents' room constantly looking for anything that might grab him on his trip, and sleep in their bed with his mom. The only thing he was never afraid of was the moon, in fact it was the quite opposite: he welcomed it. It kept everything from being in total darkness. He glanced up at the moon and its soothing light. _The unknown witness._

"Hey Matt." Basil turned to him. In return Matt gave him a puzzled look.

"Have you thought about what if we never return home?" Basil asked in a quiet voice. Matt looked down at the ground then up at the sky, dropping his arms.

"I guess we wouldn't have to worry about Bridgette bugging us anymore!" He joked then turned serious. "Why? You afraid that we won't be able to go home?" Basil sighed on the inside.

"I'm afraid _I_ won't be able to go home." He admitted. Matt muttered his name in a depressed tone.

"Maybe we should go back and check on Dad." Matt suggested.

Dad was standing in the same place but was now talking to someone in the shadows.

"Hey Dad." Matt greeted as they walked up.

"Dad! JB you have a family?!" A famine voice said totally surprise. Basil took a chance and believed that the voice belonged to Angela, the person said Dad was going to try to contact.

"Angela these are my two time adopted sons: Matt and Basil." Dad introduced. The closer they walked up the more he could make out. But she was still fairly hidden in the dark.

"Angela! It so good to see you again!" Katherine said running up to them.

"Yea!" Johan said jogging constantly looking back at the house. He seemed desperate to get out of the light.

"Johan would you stop worrying! Mom and Dad never check up on us after we go to bed. And besides we have bigger problems than being caught sneaking out of the house!" Katherine put her hands on her hips. It wasn't long till Chip met up with them.

"Basil you said you could find him." Dad looked down at him. Basil nodded and stared up at the moon while Katherine explained to Angela what the deal was with him, though he didn't listen to a word. The moon light seemed to be getting more intense. For an unknown reason his heart rate increased. Everything went a pale white. Everything went white around the edges but now he could see the boss standing in a field looking up at the night sky. Then his gaze snapped to him like he could sense him watching. It all went white again and he could feel his body leaning backwards.

"Basil!" Matt caught him before he lost his balance totally. He regained his footing.

"Where's the nearest field?!" Basil asked desperate.

"The soccer field in the park! Come on!" Dad said then ran down the road. They chased after him. With the streets totally empty they didn't have to worry about traffic or being spotted. When they got there, the boss was still standing there watching the sky.

"I told you not to get in my way!" He said coolly still watching the sky. He was still in the same outfit as before. Basil didn't respond, he just kept staring at him.

"Why should I?" Basil finally spoke. His voice stayed normal no emotion at all. The boss leveled his head and turned to face him. Basil's hand unconsciously grabbed the handle of the Metal Edge.

"Because, you fear me." He was taken back by his response. _H-How did he know?! No! I can't show weakness at a time like now!_

"Answer me this! Who are you?!" Basil shouted. In one swift motion he pulled something out of the back of his belt and a thick orange-yellow streak rushed at him so fast he barely had to move out of the way. Once he heart rate slowed down enough to let his brain clear, Basil turned back to a see gun in his hand. On the side was a red 'V' with two short streaks under it making look like a broken 'X'. For a moment everyone else in the world drifted away and it was just them in there staring contest.

"Why should I answer to you?" The man spoke still not blinking.

"Because I will find out one way or another!" Basil answered rising the Metal Edge. _Its night and the moon's out. There's no way I can lose!_ But before he could do anything else his vision went to a blinding white. He blinked several times to clear his vision. It was still night and the moon stilled glowed. But now he was completely alone in an unknown place. He was standing in a low trim area of green grass. Nothing else was around. _Wh-What? Where am I? Where's everyone else?_ His neck snapped up at the moon.

"What's going on?!" He shouted. A sharp pain in his stomach answered him. He fell on his knees gripping his stomach, then crashed to the ground. Pain overwhelming him. _This can't be how it ends! Alone. In pain. Organ vanishing._ He squeezed his eyes shut in protest. _No! I refuse to die like this! I won't let this take me!_

"Do you hear me?! I will not die like this!" He shouted at his surroundings but he still laid on the grass, his eyes closed.

Johan stared at the spot where Basil standing just a second ago. Basil and the boss just disappeared without warning. JB had his eyes wide and his body began to shake. Matt was still like a statue. His mouth slightly gaped. Katherine instantly shouted Basil's name. No answer. So he could rule out: they turned invisible. That wouldn't make since either since he would still at least to be able to Basil because he was a time traveler.

"JB what happened?" Angela asked. His neck slowly twisted back in forth like it was made of steel that he was trying to bend.

"I don't know." JB's voice came out a bit panic and his breathing increased.


	28. Chapter 28

JB ripped the Elucidator out of his pocket and furiously swiped and pecked at it. He kept muttering: "Where is he?! Where is he?!" Johan stood there unsure of what to do. What could he do?

"Dad?" Matt asked with wide eyes filled with fear. JB continued what he was doing knowing Matt's fear. His face went tight and turned a light shade of red. He looked ready to chuck the Elucidator as far as possible. Johan could understand Matt's worry. If something like that happened to Katherine he would be just as worried, but hopefully not as anxious as JB. Then there was a familiar floating feeling. _We're trying to travel through time again!_

"Hopefully where Basil went." JB answered.

"Something tells me Basil is fine. We should worry about ourselves right now." Matt said in his peppy voice when he was talking about Basil.

"I really hope you're right Matt." JB sighed depressingly. As usual the light rushed up to meet them and Johan felt sick all over again.

When the pain subsided Basil forced his body to stand up. Now the only sound came from the chirping crickets. He pressed his hand against his abdomen checking the severity of the damage. Only chunks that dotted around were left, the rest was too flat. He defiantly didn't dare to lift up his shirt just to find skin on bone and spots the bulged out slightly. The thought of the sight made him slightly dizzy. _Dad where are you? Where am I?_ The moon's glow added eerie shadowing the swaying grass and creating his shadow. _Hopefully everyone is still safe back in the twenty first century._ A strong feeling took him over. And it was telling him to fallow walk in the direction his shadowing was pointing to. It was pointing to a large cliff off in the distance where huge sideways laying egg shape hole was missing. The place looked like the perfect place to watch over the surrounding land. _Well it's not like I have any better idea._ Even at the very start of his hike he noticed how much faster he could walk and how much lighter his body felt. _If there would be any good things about losing your internal organs it would be easier to move faster…I guess the same would go for jumping. I really hope I don't have to try that out!_ Something about how the stars were arranged got him thinking about how on a summer night when Bridgette was two they went out into the middle of nowhere on a grassy hill so Basil could test out his new telescope he got. It was one of the most fun times in his life. They left early so they could have a picnic dinner watching the sunset. Dad even brought the huge picnic blanket and Mom brought different kinds of sandwiches and chips and soda. Once they were done eating Matt and he tossed a Frisbee they brought back and forth. Dad would jump in unexpectedly snatching the disk out of the air to mess with them then toss it back. When the stars finally started coming out Dad helped him set up his telescope and telling him where to point to see different planets and stars. He loved seeing what he could find in the night sky and Dad's background knowledge really helped. It was really that night when he decided he wanted to be space explorer when he grew up. He and Matt would switch off back and forth finding and observing. Once they got the hang of it, Dad backed off and went to sit down next to Mom. He hated when they had to leave but Mom promised they would come back again soon. And they did, frequently. _I really hope Mom gets to keep to that promise going._ He always knew his parents were the best ever. It wasn't always easy but they did love each other. He was lucky to get adopted to a family who wanted him for him, not like this other person he knew who was just adopted because his parents wanted to brag on who he was. Every time anyone picked on them for not being important from history they were right there to defend them.

"I promise somehow I'll get back to you." Basil muttered his promise at the night sky. He looked slightly down at the cave looming awhile away.

Johan finally got his senses together to tell him he was somewhere new. This time his time sickness was worse than ever.

"Take your time, where safe for now." JB bent over him. _Wh-where…are…we?_ His mind thought numbly. He flipped over on his back, his hand slapping something soft and…skin? What his hand hit began to mumble something he couldn't understand. Heck he couldn't even tell who he hit. His head lolled over to see what he hit was Katherine's cheek. _Oh she's probably telling me to get my hand off her face._

"W-why is this time so much worse than before?" He forced his mouth to ask JB. JB helped him into a sitting position.

"I'm not sure. I felt worse than normal to." He shrugged.

"Is it because Basil's in trouble or time is just that damaged?" Matt's body sluggishly sat up. JB had his head directed at Matt but he seemed to be looking past him, as if in deep thought.

"Damaged time?" He heard JB mumble to himself. His hand yanked the Elucidator out of his pocket so fast, JB put a hand to his head like he nearly got whiplash.


	29. Chapter 29

JB continued to stare at Matt like he was becoming an alien. Then his eyes flashed open wide. For a moment Johan was afraid something stabbed his back and he was about to die.

"Matt I think you just cracked it!" He flashed a huge smile at him. They looked at him totally confused. JB shook his head almost giddy.

"Damaged time is a time frame that has been so messed up from time traveling that it shuts time travelers out. But if Basil really does have some sort of tie with space and time is so messed up it is possible he somehow entered a damaged time and that's why we can't find him." He sounded happy to explain. "If time has become that unstable it is theoretically possible for us to enter a damaged time too. That must be why we felt so bad landing." That didn't make a whole lot of sense but he didn't have a better explanation. Johan stood on his wobbly feet.

"Wait are you saying we're in damaged time?!" He asked shocked. JB nodded his head.

"So like when the plane holding all thirty-six babies landed?" Katherine asked eyeing JB. He nodded but his smile began to fade.

"Yea, but the thing is there are multiple spots of damaged time. So I can't say I know exactly where we are." JB shrugged apologetically.

"If we're still invisible why don't we go look for people to give us an idea where we are." Katherine suggested like it was obvious. Johan instantly saw the flaw in her plan. They lost invisibility.

"Katherine we're not invisible anymore." Chip said carefully. Johan looked at his surroundings. They were in another ally like back in 1490 but the bricks were more modern than then. _When were modern bricks invented?_ Johan wondered.

"No problem. JB can just change us back." She explained like it was a duh moment. JB shook his head slowly. No, he couldn't reactivate the invisibility. Matt stood up and started walking towards the exit.

"Matt what are you doing!" JB asked shocked.

"Going to get answers." He answered.

"But we don't have invisibility. If this isn't the twenty-first century that could cause massive damage!" JB argued.

"We're already in damaged time! Besides if it was one of us that was missing Basil wouldn't sit around scared about things that haven't even happened yet. He'd be doing everything he can to find us!" Matt argued back then continue his trek towards the opening. _He truly just wants to find his brother. Would Katherine be this determined to find me? Would I be?_ Johan admired.

"Matt wait!" JB ran after him. Matt barely slowed his pace to let him catch up. They stuck their heads around the corner. JB looked back smiling at them while Matt slipped around the corner. Johan ran up to look for himself. Then he smiled himself. There were cars on a street and people in modern clothes.

"Ok now what?" Johan asked as they walked on the sidewalk.

"We figure out some way to find out the date." JB said.

"Ok so where's the nearest newsstand." Katherine swung her head up and down the street. Where ever they were it was hot and humid and only getting worse.

"Guys look!" Chip stopped them in front of a store window displaying TV's and the news was on. Johan spotted the date down in the corner.

"It's February the twelfth 2008." He turned his head to see JB turn pale.

"So we are in damaged time." Chip said under his breath.

"JB what's wrong?" Katherine asked her voice full of concern.

"Why this day?" JB seemed to be talking to himself.

"Dad do you know where we are?" Matt questioned.

"We're in San Diego." He said quietly.

"So?" Johan prompted.

"This was the day Basil was supposed to have died." He turned even paler. That shut everyone up. The day Basil was supposed to have died? He knew should be used to this from all his adventures through time but this felt different. Then the time-space fabric seemed to have hiccuped. The sun disappeared along with the store and sidewalk. Now they were standing in the darkness of night watching a group of adults load something into a car in front of a bar.

"Whatever happens _do not_ interfere!" JB whispered loud enough for them to hear. Johan instantly knew why. They were watching what originally happened to Basil. Two people were done messing with the back and one guy was nearly done tampering with the steering wheel. He dropped something heavy on the car floor, closed the door and bolted for the sideline. The engine roared and tires squeaked as it speed for a brick wall. Katherine gasped as the car slammed into the brick wall, totally smashing the front. Smoke emerged from the destroyed hood then flames started breaking out. It was madding not able to run down there and help. Flames erupted from the trunk now. It only took a few moments for the car to go up in flames. The entire time the adults stood on the side laughing and hi-fiving each other. Johan wanted nothing more than go down there a punch them in the jaw a few times.

"And to think Basil was the son of two of those people." JB said with a tight voice.

"I hate seeing this but at the same time I'm a bit glad." Matt said in a low voice. "If this didn't happen, if Dad didn't save him, I would have never been able to become brothers with Basil." Matt watched the fire with tears rolling down his face. JB pulled him in for a side hug. Everything changed again. They were in an exposed cave that over looked a sea of grass. Something in corner of his eye moved. He was still seeing it was the boss that he saw in their time.

Basil finally made it the base of the cliff. There was no path up to the cave, just a straight climb up. _Maybe being light will keep the rocks in place._ He started the climb. To keep his mind of the danger he thought about where the others might be right now. _Did they stay in the twenty-first century or did they travel again? If they did how would I be able to find them? Or will they find me first? Why can't I get a straight answer anymore?_ He was about halfway up when the rock he just grabbed on to broke off the cliff face. The shock of it was enough for him to lose his balance. He fell backwards back to the hard ground. His hand snagged a jutting piece before he fell too far. _That was too close!_ He reposition himself on the cliff. Looking back up, he fell only about five feet. His heart was still beating frantically in his chest, adrenaline rushed through his veins. _Ok that was terrifying but I have to get to the top! If I ever come here again I'm bringing a ladder._ A small pain rippled across his stomach. It wasn't deathly painful like the other times. He looked towards the moon for some comfort. Was it him or was the moon moving backwards. Soon he was covered in a mid-evening glow, the moon bold in the middle. He didn't bother checking when it stopped, he already knew all his organ were gone now. Only a few feet more and he would be at the cave. Dad's voice filled his ears,

"What are you doing here?! What's happening?!" He shouted. _Who's he yelling at? Gary? Hodge?_ He questioned. _The boss?_ Whatever the reason was, he was glad to hear his voice. First a hand grabbed the flat surface of the cave then his head. He was at a far end of the cave. Matt, Dad, Johan, Katherine, and Chip were on the other side. The boss standing between them.


	30. Chapter 30

As he forced his body over the edge another strong feeling took over his head. _He doesn't have much time here. I have to protect them till then...If I live that long._ That was when he noticed the gun in his hand. Thankfully at the moment it was pointing at the ground.

"Leave them alone! Your fight's with me." Basil shouted. The boss didn't turn around but he could see the color of his eye in the corner of his eye socket.

"I thought you would have more common sense than that." His voice was strong but calm. Dad and Katherine shouted out to him, their voice filled with every motion a human could feel.

"Neither of us have much time." Basil said lifting up his shirt showing his skeleton frame. Dad called his name again, but this time only worry was in his voice. Basil ignored him and pulled the Metal Edge of his belt. _One last fight. I have to win!_ The boss suddenly turned around pulling the trigger. Basil moved his head the least amount possible just enough to avoid the strike. He charged at him dodging another shot. Basil drew the Metal Edge so he could get the most out of the swing. But the boss was faster than he anticipated. Before he could bring the blade forward a fist slammed into his face. The combined combination of the impact and the lack of body mass caused him to fly several feet backwards before he crashed on the hard rock floor. A shot quickly fallowed giving him minimum time to respond. He flipped his lower body to the side using his planted hand to keep balance. A scorched ring appeared a few centimeters from his hand. This wasn't good. He had him on the 'D'. Basil could hear his dad scream his name. He rolled to avoid another shot. In a desperate attempt he chucked the Metal Edge at the boss. Only to dodge by the simple of tilt of the head. _Even if I can't win I can at least slow delay him long enough for Dad to figure out a way to stop him._ He caught the returning blade on the run. Basil lunged at him brining the blade forward. The boss stopped the attack by using the side of gun as a shield. His free hand went to grab something on the backside of his belt. Basil could feel his eyes go wide at the sight of an identical twin gun. As the boss took aim he pushed back and dropped to the side right as the trigger was pulled. Basil tossed the Metal Edge to just barely nick his hair. Basil caught it as he slowly stood up. _You'd think with no organs to weigh you down it would easier to stand up._ But he really knew it meant, the last of bit of his strength and energy were fading. The boss glared at him dead in the eye then vanished. Basil fell back on the hard stone floor. His vision swimming around the edges. He could hear Dad and Matt running over to him, then saw them hovering.

"You're going to be ok." Dad choked out. His face was turning red, tears pooling in his eyes. Matt already had a few tears streaking down his face. Basil smiled a pained smile. Dad put a hand on his cheek. It was soft and caring, the way it always felt.

"Thank you for saving my life several times. Thank you for giving me a chance to live." He whispered. Now a tears were coming down Dad's face. He grabbed his Dad's hand trying to comfort him. This only made the tears come down harder.

"And I'm going to save it again! You're not going to die!" The swimming slowly made its way to the center. He shook his head sympathetically,

"This isn't something you can save me from…I'm not afraid."

"Basil you can't give up!" Matt shouted choked up.

"I promise you I'm going to fight till the bitter end." He reassured. Matt looked like he wanted to punch him and hug him at the same time. The swimming was just about make everything fuzzy but he was determine to see his family clearly to the end.

"When you get home tell Mom thank you for me." They shook their heads.

"Promise me you'll never give up on life." Matt nodded like his neck was going stiff.

"Of course!" Dad cried quietly. His eye lids became too heavy to keep open. He blinked one more time to imprint the image of his dad and brother in his mind. His hand slipped and fell to the floor. Then his eyes slid close and everything went black and silent.

JB grabbed Basil shoulders and straight out cried into his chest. Matt grabbed the stone floor the best he could letting the tears strike the rock. Johan didn't know what to do. He'd seen people die before in his time travels but never like this. Should he go over there and try to comfort them or stay back and just let them cry. He couldn't hear what they said as their good-byes but he understood it was emotional. His head turned when he heard a sniffle to see Katherine was crying too. Chip had a few tears making streaks down his cheeks but he stayed silent. Something salty landed in his mouth. He didn't even realize he was crying to. JB's cries became harder and louder. He slowly drew back and grabbed Matt's shoulder. Matt looked up and wrapped his arms around him and cried into his chest. JB hid his face in Matt's hair, his back jerking up and down roughly. Then he felt the familiar feeling of floating through Outer Time. He looked around but he couldn't find Basil's body. When they landed back in the time hallow he spotted JB whipping his tears from his red eyes and sniffled.

"JB, Matt, I'm so sorry!" Katherine spoke softly. They didn't reply, they just kept focus on stopping the tears.

"We have to keep going! For Basil." Matt looked up at JB's red face then down at the floor.

"You're right!" He nodded then took a deep breath.


	31. Chapter 31

Everything was black then slowly the darkness started to fade. He blinked a few times and noticed something important. _My eyes are closed no wonder the light is acting strange._ When he fully opened his eyes he found himself standing in a wall-less purple space. Small orbs of a pale yellow light would appear, float upwards then shrivel out. Though the orbs weren't necessary since the space was well lit alone. _Where am I? Am I dead?_

"Welcome Basil Burnish. Moon Guardian." A female voice said. Basil looked all around but couldn't find the source, it seemed to becoming from everywhere all at once. He heard this voice before but where?

"How do you know my name? And what do you mean by Moon Guardian? Where are you anyway?" He asked the mysterious voice.

"We've always known who you were. It was only time till you did." Another voice laughed. Now he knew where he heard these voices. They were the same voices from his planetary nightmare. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, where was he? Was his family safe? Can he finally know what's going on? But he settled on,

"Am I dead?" His voice was lifeless and still.

"You are not dead." The laughing voice giggled. "You far from it!" On one hand Basil was relieved that he wasn't dead but then where was he?

"What do I need to do to get back to everyone?" Basil asked. The calm voice returned to answer him,

"Now you are asking the right questions but you haven't met anyone yet."

"Are you saying there are people I need to meet first?" He got the hint. The laughing voice giggled.

"Oh I have always enjoyed the intellectual capability of the Moon Guardian." _Wait I'm not the first? There were people before me?_

"Take your Elemental Ring: Ring of the Moon." The calm voice said as light gathered into a single orb. The more of the light that gathered the heavier it behaved. It slowly sunk down to him. He cupped his hands to hold the orb. It gave out one last burst of energy than began to fade. What was left in his hands was a single ring. It hard a dark grey band with a silver trimming. On the front had a medieval coat of arms shield and an engrave picture of the moon in the center in the silver color. A lone cloud covered the bottom left edge, stopping the complete circle. A decorative design of twisting lines brought life to the dark grey band.

"Ring of the Moon?" He said in a low voice tilted his hand so the ring was now in just one hand. The metal was smooth and cool to the touch.

"Yes." The giggling voice said. "The Moon Ring will become your most powerful weapon." _How can a ring be a weapon? Other than in a fist fight. But this doesn't look it would do much damage, it's too smooth and flat for that._ Despite his question he slipped the ring on to his middle finger.

"First you must find your partner. You will find him in the place of your last memory." The calm voice told him. The light started glow brighter and brighter, but before it blinded him completely he could hear them say in unison,

"You're ring is the key." He didn't have time to ask or think what that meant. The light took him over then just stopped. Basil cracked his eye opened to test the lighting. Seeing it was an optimum level he opened them completely stunted at what he was seeing. The sky was a light green color and giant mushrooms stood tall like tress dominating the land.

"Wh-where am I?" He shouted at the environment and himself.

Johan had never felt so useless before. Here Matt and JB were helping them fix time, and he couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't make them upset or have him come off as a jerk. A few tears made their way down JB's face. Either he didn't noticed or if he brushed them off new tears would take their place. Johan was thankful that Katherine spoke first.

"Maybe we should try and figure out where the boss went." She spoke choosing her words carefully. JB took a deep breath then nodded. He put a hand on Matt's shoulder and pressed something on the Elucidator and a fast moving video appeared. The two didn't seem to be paying attention much. Their faces were heavy like they were like about something else as their eyes watched the screen.

"I can't do this!" JB said abruptly. He turned around and walked to the farthest wall just to slide down and drop his head between his knees. Johan went over without really thinking about what he was doing. JB must have heard him or seen him because when he sat down he spoke quietly.

"Johan, do you have a wish right now?" Johan squinted his eyes at the shell of JB. What kind of question was that? Normal people when they're depress they tell people to go away not ask if they had a wish. Johan shrugged,

"I wanna fix time and go home." He instantly regretted saying that.

"Johan all I really wanted to do since all this began was go home, kiss and tell my wife I love her, tuck my kids into bed, raise them to the best of my ability." JB got choked up and rested his head against the wall angling his head towards the ceiling. Tears came out and made their way to the ground. Johan knew he was thinking about Basil. He wanted to apologize but nothing in his head sounded like enough.

"I'm really sorry for what happened." He whispered. JB didn't respond, a new tear streaked down.


	32. Chapter 32

With no real plan or information Basil walked through the strange environment. He still had no idea if this was another trick or if he was really off planet. One thing was sure nothing looked normal. He walked pass giant mushrooms thinking about what the voices said. _What did they mean I haven't met anyone yet? Who am I supposed to meet? And what's the deal with this ring?_ For what felt like the hundredth time he placed his hand on his stomach. Everything felt normal, all his organs were there. _I don't think I'll ever understand this._ He sighed. _They said I would find my partner at the place of my last memory so that would be the strange cave. If I only knew where to begin looking._ He figured he would find a high spot and see if he could spot the cliff. Basil brought his hand up to his face so he could closely look at the ring. It was a perfect. And he felt a strange bond with it. _What secrets are you hiding?_ He was completely enchanted by it. Like his whole life he was looking for it but never knew it. For certain he knew that this ring was special. The voices wouldn't say the ring was the key if it wasn't special. He became so lost in thought he nearly ran right into a rock wall. Looking up he sighed depressingly. It wasn't the same cliff. Actually now that he looked more at it, it was more of a series of pillar like cliffs that led up like stairs to the tallest and widest pillar. This was exactly what he was looking for. _Oh great more climbing. So much for building that ladder._ It was a long and scary climb, especially nearly falling a couple times. He struggled to get on the very top but once he did he sighed relived. It was the perfect place to look over the land. He could see the rise and fall of the strange land, but he still couldn't find the cave. _Either it's really hidden or I'm really far away._ A faint sound reached his ears. It sounded like someone was shouting from a distance. Then it got louder and a strange shaped shadow covered. Basil looked up to see someone was about to crash on him. The shock of the sight was so much he fell back as the person landed with a powerful thud on his feet. A small cloud of dust and dirt covered his shoes. _That fall should have broken his legs!_ He looked about his age and a bit taller than Basil. This guy sported short hair that looked white in the light. There was something familiar about him. _Have I seen this guy before?_ He shouted out at the view at nothing in particular. Then he turned to face him. Basil reeled back at bit.

"Don't just sit there! Get up!" He shouted. There was no anger in his voice, he just didn't seem to notice he was shouting. Basil obeyed. The other guy stare at him with a fire in his eyes.

"Do I know you?!" He shouted. _What's with this guy and yelling?! I'm standing right here!_

"I actually been asking myself them same thing." Basil suddenly got a random thought.

"You wouldn't happen to go to Scepres Middle would you?" He asked. The guy flashed a look of shock and confusion.

"You bet I do! Room 2D!" He shouted. Basil eyes sprang wide, room 2D was Matt's room.

"Then I bet you know my brother Matt!" Basil said amazed.

"If course I know Matt!" He shouted again.

Johan was glad that JB was back up and working again. He really took his time but Johan couldn't blame him. They were being extra careful on what they said. JB was messing with the Elucidator as the rest of them sat around waiting for him to finish. Matt was going through his bag in the corner. Even though he couldn't see his whole face Johan could tell he wasn't crying anymore. Johan walked over to him and spied over his shoulder.

"What are you looking for?" He asked. Matt looked back and smiled.

"My lucky charm." He pulled out a flat metal keychain of a roaring tiger.

"I always take this with me. Basil gave it to me on my fifth birthday. It has always been a reminder of our closeness. Right now I need this more than ever." Matt wrapped his hand around it, clutching it tightly. Johan didn't say a single word.

Basil and Matt's classmate sat on the edge and scanned the uneven land.

"Sorry I didn't catch your name." Basil inquired.

"They call me Wes to the extreme!" He said calmly to Basil's relief that he finally calmed down.

"Basil. Basil Burnish. Nice to meet ya!" He introduced. Wes crossed his arms and stared at him.

"You're a lot like Matt you know. You both have a friendly attitude." Wes informed. Basil was a bit taken back by this. Normal people would say they're sun and moon, the same way he always viewed them. _How much did Matt tell him about me?_ He wondered.

"Hey Wes, how did you get here? And do you know where we are?" Basil asked. Wes stared back at the view.

"All I know is I had this strange dream a few nights ago. I was in a boxing match against a figure on fire. Of course I couldn't refuse a challenge! Then I heard these two voices in my head. One was sad, the other was yelling at me so naturally I yell back! When I woke up I thought it was just a dream but then I kept these strange feelings like the sun was trying to tell me something. Then today when I was on a run the sun blinded me so badly I couldn't see anything. The next thing I knew was this strange place with a purple space and the voices from before returned and gave me this ring. And said I needed to find my partner." Wes said calmly and lifted his hand to show the ring on his finger. It was just like his but instead of a moon it was a blazing sun. In return Basil told him about his experience. About how he hit his head, the shiver, his connection to the moon, his organ disappearing.

"That's really extreme!" Wes said getting pumped up again. Basil just smiled uncertainly. _How could Matt not have told me about this guy?!_

"Did they say were you would find your partner?" Basil asked. Wes suddenly calmed back down.

"They said I would find him in a place where the light burns brightly despite of the rain." Basil thought about it for a second.

"It sounds like they're talking about a volcano." He suggested. Wes hopped back on his feet faster than Basil thought possible looking pumped up again.

"A volcano! Of course! It's the most extreme natural formation!" He shouted. Basil suddenly became worried he would run off before he got to ask more question.

"Wait have you seen a wide cave in a cliff?" He asked.

"Ah! Just over there not far! See ya soon Basil!" Wes pointed to the left side then ran right off the edge hopping down from pillar to pillar. _That guy's crazy!_


	33. Chapter 33

Basil was walking for about twenty minutes he had to guess and he still couldn't see the cave. _For a guy always on the extreme lane this walk must be short._ He sighed inwardly. _Even if I do get back to everyone how will we deal with the boss? We know nothing about him. If we can't stop him everything that anyone has ever done will be for nothing! I can't let that happen! No matter what happens!_ The sound of flame drew him out of his thoughts. Nothing around was on fire, so where was it coming from. Then a faint glow from his hand caught the corner of his eye. It was the ring on fire! Out of being startled or reaction he fell back on the ground. Basil suddenly noticed something, he wasn't in pain. The flame didn't hurt. It wasn't a typical fiery reddish-orange, this one was purple and only staying about an inch big. It was entrancing. All the properties of fire with no heat or burn or even the right color. It flickered and swayed. _Did-did this happened because of how I felt?_ To test it he focused on saving his family and friends harder and more passionate and the flame grew bigger, wider, and more powerful. When he calmed down the flame died down. _Guess that proves it!_ The flame die out and he got back up on his feet and continued on his way. When he got on the top of a huge hill he saw the cliff and cave. Basil couldn't help but smile at the sight.

Johan blinked away the blurry vision. They just had another trip through time, but this time he knew where they were. JB had sent them to 1790, ten years after Matt's original identity died. When they were searching the time stream again, they found something was wrong and the Elucidator was working enough to tell them Gary and Hodge had messed with George Washington. Johan remembered how excited how Katherine was seeing George Washington in person.

"He was one of the most influential people in his era." JB told them back in the time hallow.

"Well of course! He was the first president!" Katherine argued. JB shook his head.

"It's not just because of that. Even though that alone would make him a prime target for Gary and Hodge." JB muttered. Johan's mind slowly came back online. _JB said he would land us in a safe place near George Washington._ A hand grabbed his shoulder and yanked him on his feet. The blurriness went away to see JB had his hand on his shoulder.

"It helps if you stand up as soon as you can." He whispered. He looked like the clearest glass that could break in the slightest disturbance. In a way that was true. Johan reminded himself that he had to be careful on what he said. JB and Matt had just lost Basil not long ago in their term of time. He still couldn't quite grasps how they could just bounce back after such a huge lost. If lost Katherine like that he didn't think he would be able to do anything for at least a year. Matt grabbed something from his pocket and squeezed it in his fist. _His lucky keychain._ Johan thought proudly for figuring that out.

"Alright let's go." JB whispered. Johan fallowed him through dense forest careful not to step on anything that would give them away to nearby ears. When they reached the edge of a clearing JB hunkered down behind a rock. Johan kneeled beside him. Out on a walk was the president himself.

Basil finally reached the base of the cliff after what felt like forever. _So much for the ladder!_ He stared up the cliff. Basil began to climb up to instantly notice that this time will be much harder than before. Rocks fell from above directly at him. He grabbed the Metal Edge of his belt and swung to redirect the falling rocks. It barely worked. There was no way he could climb and hold on to the Metal Edge. So he placed the Metal Edge back on his hip and continued. Another few feet up and another set of rocks came down. This time he side jumped out of the way. _So this is how it's going to be!_ All the constant jumping and dodging was wearing on his hands and energy. But by the time he made to the bottom lip of the cave, the rock slides stopped. _Ah thank goodness!_ He sighed flopping his upper body on the safe flat. Basil looked around at the empty cave remembering each detail from before. Seeing his family and friends, battling against the boss…losing. But in the dead center of the cave was a small decorated podium made of stone. _Ok that defiantly wasn't there before!_ He forced his legs inside and stood up. Getting up he spotted a small purple cube box. It was about two inches each way and a bright silver color marked the edges and corners. A small circular hole sat in the center of the top. A line cut through the circle's center from one flat edge to the other, top to bottom.

"The voices said my partner would be here in this cave. So does this mean my partner is in this box?" Basil questioned himself. _Well on one else is around so I'm going to have to say yes. But what could be inside that would be helpful._ He tried prying it open with his fingers, it didn't budge.

"Wait they said the ring was the key. This is what they must've meant!" He curled up his hand into a fist and pressed the top of the ring inside. Nothing. Wait no! The box rocked back and forth once in his hand slightly.

"Wait a minute!" Basil suddenly remembered the fire he produced on his trip here. Maybe that was the real key! And the ring was just a way to admit it! Basil focused on the emotions he felt before and the flame came back. Basil grinned as he pressed the flaming top into the hole. First nothing then the two sides opened up. A short column of the same purple fire appeared. It quickly disappeared to reveal a great horned owl whose outer edge feathers were admitting the same purple flame. _I've been waiting for you._ A different voice said in his head freaking him out.


	34. Chapter 34

This wasn't happening! Was it? _I didn't mean to frighten you._ The voice said. Was the owl's voice actually in his head or was he dreaming. He knew he wasn't dreaming so the owl must be talking in his head.

"You can talk?" Basil asked amazed. _It's not really speaking through vocal cords. I can transmit my thoughts into your head telepathically due to our connection. Don't worry I can't actually read any of your thoughts, I can only give you mine. So if you want to tell me something you have to verbally tell me._ That was a comforting tidbit of information. _Well at least my thoughts are still private._

"Who are you? Who are you really?" Basil questioned. _I'm your partner. Call me how you see fit._ The owl replied. If that wasn't a hint to name him, nothing was.

"Alright, Lunas. What's going on?" Basil said. The name Lunas seemed like the best fit on all levels. Lunas silently landed on the pillar making it his perch. _I am not sure. That is for you to find out._ Lunas told him. Basil sighed in disappointment. So much for that.

"So I guess I keep walking." _Sounds like a good idea_.

"I can't believe I now have to climb back down." He stared down at the ground far below. _Perhaps not._ Lunas suddenly slammed into him, sending him falling down out of the cave. A strong set of talons grabbed the back of his shirt and huge powerful flap of Lunas's wings stopped his fall inches before hitting the ground. He set softly down on the ground. Basil could feel his heart threating to jump out of his chest. He flopped over on his back in hopes to calm it down. When it finally did he sat up crossing his legs.

"Lunas don't do that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Basil shouted. _But you got down without having to climb or slam on the ground._ Lunas argued. _Bring me back out when you need me._ Lunas said then switched back into a burst of flames and zipped back into the box. The two edges snapped closed behind him. _What has my life become?!_ Basil shouted in his head.

Johan watched Washington closely. At first what he thought was a stroll turned out be something even stranger. He was walking around in circles with zoned out looking on his face. A month ago he would have cracked up at this but now it terrifying to see. He didn't look like the heroic general or president! This guy looked like an idiot!

"JB what happened to him?" Johan whispered.

"Gary and Hodge are becoming more extreme with their medication!" He answered through clinched teeth. "Where are they even getting this kind meds?!" No one bothered to answer because they already knew: their new boss.

"You can cure him though right?" Chip asked. JB nodded,

"Yea but there's a problem. The antidote is fast reacting. Once we get it into his bloodstream there won't be time to do anything else and it's too risky to freeze time." Johan wanted to sigh but he held it in.

"Isn't there a way to give him what he needs without actually touching him?" Chip whispered. JB and Matt gave him confused looks.

"No!" They said together.

"But maybe-Dad can you even get the cure in here?" Matt asked.

"Yea but why? Once the medication is in there won't be any time to get out." JB squinted his eyes.

"You just have to trust me." Matt gave him a serious look. JB typed on his Elucidator and handed Matt the vile that appeared. Once his finger had wrapped around the tube he sprinted towards Washington with impressive speed. A few feet away he lunged at him. The needle stabbed Washington in the knee then Matt just vanished. Chip and Katherine had smuggle JB's mouth to keep him from screaming. But Johan could still hear JB's muzzled shout. Washington shook his head as if he was clearing his brain. Everything went black then turned back into the time hallow. JB tossed Katherine and Chip off of him stared at the wall, desperation in his eyes. His breathing became rough and unsteady.

"JB don't worry we'll find him!" Katherine tried to reassure him. _I sure hope we can._ Johan thought quietly in his head.

Basil was merely walking around hoping to figure something out. He was now just hoping that something would find him and not the other way around. There was a bizzar movement up ahead. It was a human slowly standing up. When he could see his face Basil couldn't believe it! The person turned to face him and a huge smile broke out on his face.

"Basil!" Matt called rushing up to him. Before he knew it he was caught in a hug.

"Matt?" Somehow he managed to whisper. Matt kept his grip.

"I thought you were gone for good." Matt let him go and backed up. There were tears streaking away a light layer of dust on his face. "Where are we anyway?" Basil shrugged,

"Wish I knew. I haven't figured much out since I got here." Matt grinned and shrugged it off, wiping the tears off his face. They continued the walk as Basil told him about everything that happened to him since they got separated. Getting the ring, meeting Wes, and finding Lunas. Matt was really shocked that Wes was involved in this. That got them wondering if anyone else they knew was involved. Matt then told them what happened to him and Washington.

"So they went after Washington. But why?" Basil muttered to himself. Matt suddenly ran up to a huge rock ahead and pulled something of the ground. It was a belt with two holsters on it, both were filled with a blaster gun each. Matt pull one out and gave it a confused look.

"G-K? Wonder what that stands for?" He showed the strange engraving to Basil.

"Maybe the model?" Basil took a guess.

"Who would leave this lying around?" Matt put the gun away.

"Maybe the owner's still around." Basil suggested. "If that's the case we'd better look for around."


	35. Chapter 35

They looked around the entire area not fining a single person.

"Hello! Anyone around?!" Matt shouted from the top of a huge boulder. No luck.

"That's really weird. They looked so clean they could be new when I found them. So the owner couldn't have gotten far." Matt said jumping down. He was right, there was no dirt on them. Not even a thin layer of dust.

"Guess you should hold on to them till we can find the owner." Basil suggested. Matt nodded in agreement. He stripped the belt around his waist, so the blaster guns were resting on the tops of his thighs. But before they could consider moving again the sound rocks and something else falling caught them. Basil looked up in time to see huge boulders and giant mushrooms falling right towards them from a neighboring pillar. Without thinking he pulled out his Metal Edge and ran towards the side. By split seconds stops, jumps, turns, and spins they managed to avoid most of the falling debris but mountain sized boulder came tumbling down. It was way too big to dodge no matter where they ran. _Alright Lunas, let's see how well we work together!_ Basil ignited the ring and opened Lunas's box. He appeared in a blast of purple fire. They charged at the incoming boulder, Lunas staying over his shoulder. Basil jumped off a rock that found a new home, drew his blade back and slashed the rock right in time with Lunas' charge. The rock cracked and smashed into tiny fragments only to find a bigger boulder going to crush him in midair. There was a sound of a trigger pulled and gleaming yellow light surged right next to his ear. Being this close he could see the edge of blast flicker slightly like a flame. The boulder was instantly destroyed upon impact. Instead of being flattened like he thought he would, he landed on a small ledge just big enough to hold him. _A Sun class flame? How interesting._ Lunas told him hovering over his shoulder. Basil looked back down at Matt who held a blaster gun in his right hand. He was looking back up at him smiling. _So you already have a subordinate._ Lunas said. Basil turned to him shocked.

"Matt's my brother! Not my subordinate!" He instantly corrected. _He has a powerful flame and he doesn't have Elemental Ring. So he is your subordinate, like it or not._ Lunas looked directly into his eyes. The last thing Basil wanted was to drag others into this craziness nor less Matt. Talking to him was fine but physically dragging him involved, that wasn't something he was ready to do.

"Oh what do you know?!" Basil huffed. _Far more than you think._ Lunas replied. Basil ignored him and jumped down. Matt was rattling the gun next to his ear like a kid trying to figure out what was inside their Christmas' boxes.

"It sounds like there's something inside of here." Matt explained before he could ask.

"Could've that last shot dislodge something?" Engineering was far from his strong suit. Lunas softly landed on his shoulder. _There could be an extra part that only the right person is meant to get out._ Basil continued to watch Matt rattle the blaster next to his ear. At certain points light would hit the inside cover and gave a strange impression of an image. He looked closer, it was still there.

"Was that always there?" Basil asked. Matt stopped his shaking,

"What?" Basil grabbed his wrist and angled it so the light was reflecting off the surface. Now he could see the image clearly. It had head of serious looking horse with two wings on each side.

"Weird I wonder what that has to do with anything." Matt said looking at the strange image. He pulled out the second one to find out it has the same image. Matt slid the second one back into its holster and accidentally pulled the first back to far and it struck a rock. A small silver object fell out of the opening. Another ring. But this one was different, it didn't have the shield on it but the same horse logo with feathers decorating around it. _So that's what was rattling around inside._

"I guess it's a three part matching set." Matt laughed picking it up. A shout broke them up and a strange shadow partly covered Basil's head. He looked up to see someone about to land on him! Basil scrambled out of the way next to Matt. The person landed hard enough to kick up dust. It was Wes.

"Hey Wes, that was some entrance!" Matt greeted.

"Matt what are you doing here?!" Wes said in his normal loud voice. Matt laughed,

"Not a clue!" Then back to his normal voice, "So what about you?"

"Extreme training!" Wes said in a normal non-shouting voice. "So Basil is that your partner?" Basil nodded,

"Did you find yours?"

"Yea right were you said it would be! On top of a volcano! Let me bring him out! Come out Kango!" Wes tighten his hand into a fist and sparked a sparkling yellow flame from his ring and brought out a bright yellow box similar to Lunas's. He pushed the top of the ring inside and the lid rushed open to reveal a tan colored kangaroo with the same yellow flames coming out of its ears and the tip of the tail. It was wearing athletic tape on its wrists and feet. _So we now know the Sun Guardian was found his partner. One element down, six more to go._ Lunas said.


	36. Chapter 36

"Huh? What do you mean six others?" Basil questioned.

"What are you talking about? No one said anything about six others!" Wes shouted. Basil patted the air to calm him down.

"Lunas told me." Basil explained. "Wait, Kango doesn't talk to you?" Wes gave him a dumb look.

"Of course not! Though I wish he could!" He said getting very pumped up. Naturally _. You see as the Moon Guardian you spot small important details others would normally miss and use that to be two steps ahead. Foresight is the role of the Moon Guardian. The Sun Guardian's role is to burn and illuminate like the raging sun._ Lunas explained. Basil nodded in understanding.

"So Wes you said you were training. Training for what exactly?" Matt changed the topic.

"I'm not exactly sure. But there's something about this place that brings out your fighting spirt!" Wes said pumping himself up again. Basil thought about it for a minute to realize he was right. He did feel more pumped ever since he got here. Charging a giant boulder? He would have never done that back at home. What caused it and why? _The voices and Lunas said I need to find five others excluding myself and Wes. Are the same feeling? Are they training?_

"Hey Lunas you said there were five more I needed to find. So what are their elements? That might help me find them." Basil asked. _The others are Sky, Ground, Rain, Lightning, and Storm. Who they are or where they are beyond me._ Basil crossed his arms.

"So we're looking Sky, Ground, Rain, Lightning and Storm Elemental Ring holders." He thought out loud. "And there's no guarantee that they found their partner's yet."

"Oi, that reminds me! I saw this enormous dark storm cloud across a huge mushroom gorge!" Wes said or shouted pointing behind Basil. Mushroom gorge? What did that mean?

"In order to find the rest of the elements we'd better split up. Matt and I will search the place with the storm cloud while Wes you check out the west. I wished we had some way to communicate but I guess the best we can do is find each other again." Basil suggested. They nodded in agreement. Lunas and Kango zipped back into their boxes. Wes waved so long and ran off.

"How could you have never told me about him?" Basil finally asked him.

"You never asked." Matt replied. Basil gave him a look that said: you can't be serious! Matt laugh in his friendly way.\

"So Wes said that the gorge was that way." He turned his head around.

It was a long but they finally made it the gorge Wes was talking about. And now he understood what Wes meant by Mushroom gorge. The gorge looked like an endless bottomless pit with by far the biggest mushrooms yet!

"Wow Wes wasn't kidding when he said this was huge!" Basil said amazed at the sight.

"Guess we get across over the mushroom tops." Matt said. "Mom would kill us if she knew what we were doing!" He laughed. Basil nodded in total agreement. Not in ninety billion years would she let them do something like this without any safety equipment. Normally he felt like she was just being a mom in trying to keep them safe, but this time he totally agreed with her.

"Well we're not going to get anywhere by standing here." Matt tested the top with his foot. Seeming satisfied he hopped on.

"Come on! These things are ridged!" He waved Basil to fallow. Basil took one more glance down then jumped on. These things were so big they could easily hold ten people on top. As they hopped along they sparked a conversation. They mainly talked about what was going on and their next move.

"I wish we knew what the boss is even up to or even his name." He said bounding to the next mushroom top.

"Agreed. It feels like with every answer we get, we get ten more questions to add to the list." Matt said looking back at him. "Like why is my ring different from yours but the shot produced the same flames as Wes?"

"From what I understand you and Wes both have Sun class flames, yellow, while mine is moon so it's purple. And flame class has different properties that suit its role." Basil explained the best he could.

"So what's the properties of the Sun flame?" Matt questioned. Basil shrugged in answerless,

"Don't know."

"I just want to get this done so we can go home." Matt said an unusual stern voice, stopping Basil in his tracks. "Basil what's up?"

"Matt, life is never going to be the same again. I don't think it ever was supposed to be for me. I remember how I was supposed to have died! Dad and the others think I'm dead! My partner is a telekinetic owl for crying out loud!" Basil said truly realizing how crazy his life had become in less than seven days. "I wonder how Mom going to handle the news about me being dead and you missing." He sighed depressed.

"You wanna know the major flaw I see in that sentence? You talking like we'll never get home. We gotta keep moving! You are probably the only one who can beat the boss! We need to get home for Mom and Dad. And besides if we don't get home that give Bridgette all-access pass to snoop and take our stuff! I don't know about you but I don't want to have Bridgette in my room without me in it!" Strangely enough Matt's strange speech did make him feel better.

"Thanks Matt! I'm glad you're here with me!" Basil said sincerely.

"Of course we're more than brothers, we're best friends!" Matt flashed his famous smile and laugh. _Don't worry Dad, we'll find a way back to you!_


	37. Chapter 37

Matt backed up for a running start to jump a huge gap. He ran full speed, leapt at the last second and made it. Basil backed as far as he could, ran like he was on fire then jumped. The landing zone was insight then it suddenly fell short. He slapped and began to slide down, at the last second he grabbed onto the rounded rim desperately trying to hold on.

"Basil take my hand!" Matt reached down to him. He reached up as far as he could but it still wasn't high enough. And there was no way he could open Lunas's box in his position. Basil continued to stretch up towards his brother's hand. The second he felt the skin on Matt's hand, he latched on like a drowning man on a floating log. He slowly began to rise up to safety. Basil kicked till he found some traction and helped Matt pull him back on. They fell back on the mushroom panting.

"That was way too close!" Basil said through his hard breathing.

"No kidding!" Matt's head rolled around while his eyes were pointing to the sky.

JB was sitting in the corner his face covered by his arms and legs. Katherine was trying to talk some comfort to get him to come back, but he just rubbed his forehead deeper into his arms.

"Katherine, let's just give him some time alone right now." Chip spoke carefully putting a hand on her shoulder. She looked like she was about to argue but closed her mouth and nodded. Johan felt so useless. He saved time multiple times but he can't even make JB feel better when he needed it most. _I guess having one son die and the other really destroys a person! And all on one day to! Mom and Dad would be the same I guess if they lost me and Katherine like that._

"I really wish there was something we could do to make him feel better!" Katherine muttered to him, crossing her arms.

"Unless we bring Basil back to life and find Matt and stop Gray and Hodge and their boss I don't think anything can make him feel better." Johan whispered back.

"Losing both of your sons is tough. It has taken out some of the strongest men." Chip slipped back into his medieval accent. He turned back to JB to see his back rise and fall roughly. For the second time ever he was seeing JB crying. His heart broke into two seeing him like this. Completely destroyed, no will to move on, nothing to look forward to. He walked over next to him not able to do nothing. Johan pressed his back to the wall and slid down, hearing JB's choked cries. If he listened carefully he could hear him mutter: "I'm sorry Brook! I'm so sorry! I lost them both!"

"We don't know if Matt is gone. For all we know he could be back home or at the beach on a nice day relaxing…I haven't know them that long but I _know_ that they would want you to keep going on." Johan told him. JB brought his head enough to look at him. His face and eyes were red. Tears moistened the rivets on his cheeks.

"Johan I get you don't understand this, but I swore to myself that I would protects my kids with my life if I had to! I watched my son slowly died, not able to do a single thing to help him! I couldn't even make it comfortable when he passed! Or give him the chance to say good-bye to his mother or sister! I saved from death as an infant just to watch die so young still! Now I have to tell my wife and daughter –if I ever get the chance- why it's just the three of us now!" They just sat there, staring at each other like a silent war to see who was right. After a moment Johan looked away and cleared his throat.

"You said you had a wife and daughter. Shouldn't you keep going for them?" Johan said quietly, almost a whisper. JB sighed depressingly but nodded.

"Johan I hope you never have to go through this. It beyond hard to lose the kids you raised since they were babies." JB rubbed his red eyes and slowly stood up. Johan didn't say a word, he just stood up with him.

Matt and Basil sat back to back looking at the nothing in particular. They agreed to use the terrifying experience to take a break.

"What do ya think Dad's doing?" Basil asked not turning around.

"Missing us." Matt said plainly. This time Basil did turn his head around,

"That's a given. Are they back in the time hallow or some other time?" He turned his head back. Basil could feel Matt shrug.

"He's probably pushing his grief far down enough to deal with the problems in hand." Matt replied. Basil drew his legs up to his chest and rested his chin on his knee cap.

"How much pain did I cause him when I _died_?" He muttered. Matt stayed quiet for a moment.

"A lot. It was _really_ hard to see you lifeless. I never seen Dad so distraught before. He almost looked ready to give up." He caused Dad that much suffering? To the point he was about ready to give up even after he told not to.

"Hey Matt how do we know we aren't dead?" Basil muttered. He was surprised to hear laughing.

"You could say that about life in general! There is only one way to find out. Tell me if this hurts." Matt slugged his arm, hard!

"Yea that hurt!" Basil said rubbing his arm.

"Then you're alive." Matt stood up. "But let's not spend the rest of it here." He offered him a hand up. Basil nodded taking the open hand.


	38. Chapter 38

It felt like it took forever with all the hopping and jumping but the other rocky side came into view.

"We're nearly there!" Basil couldn't help but smile. They say crossing an ocean is hard in old ship, well they should try to cross this period! He looked up at the sky to see a thick, heavy storm cloud hang above the other side out at a distance. It didn't look like it was raining just very dark.

"We're so close! Let's not stop here!" Matt said jumping to the next top. Basil fallowed staying close by.

"Hey Basil, didn't you say one of the elements was Storm?" Matt questioned letting Basil catch up. He nodded,

"Yea, along with Sky, Ground, Thunder and Lighting. Do you think Thunder and Lighting are there too?" Basil asked.

"I hope so." Matt turned his head back to the ledge and large cloud. They stayed quite for the rest of the time focusing on jumping and landing in the right spots. With one last jump Basil's feet finally hit solid ground after what felt like forever. Never has he enjoyed a solid firmness than now.

"It feels so good to be back on solid ground again." Basil said stretching out his arms.

"Right with ya! My legs were getting sore from all that jumping." Matt shook out each leg. They looked to see the cloud was still a long way away. Basil release a tried breath surveying the trip ahead. _I hope the others aren't as extreme as Wes! I can barely handle him. I don't know what I'd do if I had to deal with multiples of him._ Taking in a breath he lifted up his foot and took the first step.

Johan watched JB scroll on his Elucidator with a lifeless look in his eyes. He kept murmuring things no one could catch.

"You know what? Forget Gary and Hodge! We're going right after their boss!" JB said suddenly looking up. He bent his head back down to the Elucidator and spoke,

"Can you tell us anything about him?" The blank wall change to show somebody sleeping in a bed in the middle of the night. It was zoomed in on the person sleeping. The image brighten a bit to reveal a kid about thirteen if he had to guess. He had a rusted blonde hair and he kept tossing and turning as if he was having a nightmare.

"Why is it showing us Basil?" JB asked no one in particular. Really that was Basil? _Oh this must be back when he was still alive and at home._ Something happened the screen that never happened before. It started acting like it wasn't sure on what it want to show next. The screen flickered and wavered with a purple filter slowly becoming thicker.

"What's going on?" Chip asked.

"I'm not sure. The Elucidator says it's not malfunctioning it doesn't know what's wrong." JB responded. The image became clear again to show Gary and Hodge trying to strike a deal with the boss sitting in a throne like chair.

"Oh I get it! This is – er was Basil's dream." Katherine sounded proud of herself for figuring that out on her own.

"But not a dream. Remember before he looked distressed, this must be his nightmare. We're seeing it through his eyes." Chip said. With the two conversation he missed on what they were trying to negotiations.

"Shut up!" The boss snapped. It was strange two see Gary and Hodge pull back from someone.

"If you want your profit and live to use it you _better_ do _everything_ I tell and I don't accept screw ups!" He spat like he was dealing with idiots. Gary and Hodge nodded as if their lives depended on it. The boss turned his head towards them like he knew they were watching. Johan felt his body go stiff in fear as he stared at his brown glaring eyes. He didn't realize he was holding his breath till the screen flicked off.

"We shouldn't have been able to see that. It's not possible to see other people dreams! So how were we able to?" JB stared at the blank wall.

"I wish Basil was here. I bet he could figure out what's going on." Katherine groaned.

"Well he's not! And we still don't know where to find the boss or anything about him!" JB spat taking everyone by surprise. Was JB blaming Basil for dying? No, that couldn't be right. Just a moment ago he was blaming himself for Basil's death.

"JB are you ok? You're acting strange." Katherine asked carefully. JB turned his body to scowl all of them.

"Yea I'm doing great!" He spat sarcastically. "Why wouldn't I be alright? I have one son dead, the other completely missing, time is breaking down and we can't find the dude responsible! So yea a dandy! Thanks for asking!" Johan stood their unsure of how to react. JB never behaved like that before. It was so out of character for him. Before anyone could say anything JB stormed off to a corner. The three of them looked at each other shocked and unsure.

Basil noticed how Matt was constantly playing with the ring on his finger.

"You know what I just realized? I never asked how you were doing." He prompted. Matt chuckled at the ground almost depressingly.

"I don't know. I never got a chance to think about. All of it happened so quickly. You hitting your head on the wall, remembering, you feeling time stop and start, the dream, us being swept out of time to be caught in a whirlpool of confusion…I don't know, I guess I'm amazed, frustrated, and scared all at once."


	39. Chapter 39

The walk was long and tedious but they managed to cover a lot of ground.

"Uhh! I think my feet are about to fall off!" Basil moaned as he body was slugged forward.

"I think mine fell off a few miles back but I don't wanna turn around to go check!" Matt agreed. How was it that this place could be so huge but have nothing but huge mushrooms and rocks?

"There was got to be a better way to get around!" Matt complained.

"Until you find it, keep walking!" Basil told him. They both groaned. There wasn't much to look at anymore. They left behind the last mushroom tree what felt like ages ago and were now traveling on pure solid rock. Basil forced his eyes to look up at the huge storm cloud that never seemed to get any closer. _That cloud must be huge if we're still not there yet._

"How can we have been walking forever and still not have gotten there by now!" Matt shouted at the sky. Basil had no idea on how to answer that question.

"Let's take a break." He suggested. Matt crashed on the rocky floor in complete agreement. Basil watched as lighting steaked down the bottom of the cloud.

"Who knows, maybe the people were looking for will come to us." Matt said still laying on the ground. It wasn't likely but still plausible. At this point he just wanted it to rain so he could have something to drink.

"Hey Basil you wouldn't have anything to eat on you would you? I left my lunch in my bag back in the time hallow." Matt asked.

"Not unless you are suddenly able to eat pocket lint." He lolled his head back just in time to see a huge what looked like an explosion. It was hard to tell how big it was with perception. _Was that really small or really far away?_

"Hey Matt did you see that?" Basil preposition himself so he face the direction of the explosion in a more comfortable way. Matt turned his head to see what he was looking at, then sighed,

"We're going to go check it out, aren't we?"

"Yep." Basil got up and turned around to see Matt grudgingly get up.

Johan watch helplessly as JB smashed his fist into the wall. _I wonder if it's possible to break the wall. I wonder what would happen if you did._

"JB quit it! That's not doing anything productive!" There Katherine goes again sounding like Mom. JB pinched the bridge of his noise taking a deep breath.

"You're right, sorry. It's just this has been the worst day ever. But you're right, I have to fix this for Basil and to find Matt." He whipped the Elucidator.

"Ok let's see what we know. I was going through the time line when you guys showed up then Matt and Basil appeared. Place unknown, strange boss, lots more time travel, Henry the fifth, Basil got lost then died, Washington, Matt disappeared." JB muttered and the Elucidator made a bullet point list on the wall. "Argg! I feel we're right on the edge of figuring it out but I can't figure out what the missing piece is!" He growled grabbing his hair. Katherine put a hand on his arm, her way of trying to comfort him.

The strange explosion was a good motivator for them to get moving again. They were even moving faster than before! _I wonder if that explosion involved any of the other Guardians._

"Hey Basil look!" Matt pointed to a small bump protruding from the flat. From this distance it was impossible to tell what it was. Whatever it was, was right under the edge of the storm cloud. Did the lighting strike something on the ground causing the explosion? Basil started into a quick jog, Matt tailing him. Before he knew it he could identify the object as a person laying on the ground.

"Matt hurry!" Basil broke into a run. The closer he got the more he could see. This person was laying on his back. His clothes dotted with dust and dirt. Whoever it was, was wearing a black jacket and plain red shirt with dark colored jeans with a silver chain hanging from the side. His hair was white but he was still a young teen like him. Basil skidded to a stop next to him to bend down to examine how badly he was hurt.

"Hey, are you alright!" Matt asked the person. He moaned the opened his eyes. He put a hand on his forehead as he began to sit up.

"Uh you might want to lay back down for a bit. Whatever hit you hit you hard." Basil suggested. The person glared at him.

"Pht! I don't need your help!" He pushed him away so he could stand up. Standing up he was roughly a half an inch shorter than Matt. Which still made him taller than him. His expression suddenly changed as he looked down at him. "Your one?" Then Basil understood what he was talking about. Basil nodded standing back up showing him the ring on his finger.

"Moon." They stared at each other for a second.

"Storm." The stranger showed off his ring. Again it was just like his but the engraving in the center was different. It was a strange squiggle where the bottom part branched downward like a poorly drawn tornado. Then it seemed he noticed Matt then gave him the cold shoulder.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Matt questioned. The Storm Guardian shot Matt an angry look.

"What do you mean you don't recognize me?!" He spat. "Does a dodge ball match ring a bell in that empty head of yours?!" Matt eyes looked upwards like they always did when he was thinking.

"Ah now I remember! It was just in the finally and I hit you out! You're from 2C right?" Matt sounded proud for remembering that. Basil couldn't believe it! This guy was from his school too, and not only that but the same grade year as him, Matt and Wes! What was going on here? Was everyone in his grade and school?!

Sorry for the not posting in a while! I'm going through minor writers block at the moment. I know how most of it is going to turn out but I'm stuck at what Johan and the others should be up to. So let me know if you want to see something happen. Let me know in the review so I can see how I can work it in! Thanks for all the support!


	40. Chapter 40

"We never got your name. I'm Basil and this is my brother Matt." Basil introduced. The stranger gave him a steely gaze.

"Rease." He said like they should have already known that. There was a sudden burst of little kid laughter. A kid about five or six came running up to them laughing. One thing was for sure: he wasn't in his grade.

"Ha ha! Stupid got hurt!" He laughed like it was the funniest thing ever.

"Hey Rease how did you get hurt anyway?" Basil questioned. Rease turned his head to the side like he wasn't worth looking at.

"That kid got upset and opened his box and a lighting bull charged at me."

"Wait are you saying that this kid is the Lighting Guardian?!" Basil said totally shocked.

"Wish I wasn't. But his ring is legit and he opened up the box." He answered sounding disgusted.

"What's his name anyway?" Matt asked

"You're in the presence of the coolest person ever! Miles! Bow down to me!" The kid put his hands on his hips and tilted his head up in proud manor.

"JB you don't seem emotionally able to deal with this right now. Why don't you go sit down and we'll work with the Elucidator." Katherine suggested. JB looked down at the Elucidator in his hand taking his time to answer.

"Alright, fine." He handed the Elucidator to Katherine then shrugged off to the back wall. The moment he was out of ear shot Katherine immediately asked the Elucidator if there was a place they could send him so he could morn in peace. **NO**.

"Why not?" Johan asked. The screen changed. **THERE IS NO PLACE THAT WOULDN'T CAUSE HIM MORE EMOTIONAL DISTRESS.**

"What about sending him home?" Chip tried. **HE IS NOT READY TO TELL HIS WIFE THAT HE LOST THEIR SONS.**

"So what? We just let him sit here?" Johan looked up at Katherine and Chip.

"What if we found Matt? Would that make him feel better?" Katherine asked the Elucidator. **MOST LIKELY.** That was a good sign. There was still a chance to get JB back to at least to half of what he was before. Johan glanced at the broken time traveler.

JB buried his head deeper in his palms. How did this happen? How was it was such an average morning turned into this? He still see Basil and Matt head off to school like every other day. Just a week ago his biggest concern as parent was his kids didn't forget anything when they went to school. Now one was dead and the other was who-knows-where! He was helpless to help Basil and now he can't even help himself or anyone. The more he tried to push his feelings to the side the harder they came back. JB wanted to punch himself. How was he going to explain this to Brook? She loved them maybe more than he did and that was a big maybe! Hearing this would absolutely crush her! _I'm a failure as a husband and a Dad! I'm the worst parent ever!_ At least there was a chance Matt was still alive. But he could be anywhere in any time. And with history's violent nature there is no guarantee about anything. He squeezed his eyes even tighter titling his head even lower so his fingers grabbed his bangs.

"This has to be the most frustrating device ever invented! How do JB and other time travelers constantly use these?!" Katherine sighed infuriated. They had been asking the Elucidator questions about Matt and the boss and once about Gary and Hodge. As usual it wouldn't give them a straight answer.

"They probably had training." Johan answered her getting a death glare.

"Maybe we should get JB's help. He's better at working this thing than we are." Chip suggested. Johan looked back at JB. He was the perfect example of the definition depress.

"No. Let's give him more time." Johan grabbed the Elucidator out of Katherine's hand.

Basil fell on his back, his skin stinging. Rease wasn't kidding that Miles was the Lighting Guardian. When he suggested that move to someplace safer Matt started complaining that he didn't want to go. Rease picked him up to force him to go Miles got upset and started trashing about. His ring ignited and Miles slammed his fist as his box. The ring went in the hole and a light green lighting came charging out. A bull appeared out of the flash. Lighting flashed across its body.

"Not again!" Rease flinched. Miles didn't seem to notice this and continued trashing about.

"Put me down Stupid!" Miles shouted. The bull switched back into the lighting form but instead of going back into the box it charged at all them. The lighting strike hit everyone including Miles. He could hear Miles moan on Rease's chest. The lighting streaked back towards the box and it close with a gentle thud.

"Well that hurt!" Matt groaned next to him. If Mom stressed out him hitting his head he wonder how she would react with him getting hit by lighting. Basil moaned in agreement. He closed his eyes for a second just to catch a breath but when he heard the sound of a boxing opening he jerked his eyes open to see if Miles was messing with his box again. But the sound actually came from Rease's red box. Basil was surprised to see inside was a small house size cat. It was white faint yellow patches on his head and thighs. Red flames shot out its ears. Its eyes were all crimson red.

"What are you doing out of your box?" Rease asked the cat. But it just yawned and curled up on his face. When he tried moving it, it hissed and clawed his face till it was back curled up. Basil laid his head back down and closed his eyes.


	41. Chapter 41

With everyone Ok and back on their feet Miles still didn't want to go because he didn't want to walk.

"He's a stubborn one isn't he?" Matt laughed then crouched down next to the protesting Miles. "What if you wouldn't have to walk, you agree to go then?" Miles looked at him considering.

"I could give you a piggyback ride if you want." Matt offered.

"No I want to ride on your shoulders that why I can be the tallest!" Miles demanded. Matt agreed and laughed.

"Good thing that's solved." Basil said then he noticed that Rease was missing. "Rease? Where did you go?" He scoped around not able to find him.

"Here." His voice came from behind. Basil turned around to see his face was scratch up and the cat on his shoulder sleeping soundly.

"What happened to you?" Basil asked.

"Bit got out of his box and ran off." Rease jester to the cat on his shoulder. "And was being stubborn as ever." Bit rushed back into his box as Rease lifted up towards him.

"Ha ha Stupid got hurt!" Miles laughed from Matt's shoulders.

"Why you!" Rease clinched his hands together into fists getting upset.

"Hey now we're all on the same team now aren't we?" Matt manage to break up the fight before it started.

"Fine. I'll let you deal with the annoying brat." Rease crossed his arms.

"I'm not annoying! You are annoying Stupid!" Miles shouted. Rease turned his head to the side ignoring him. They began walking in a random direction. They didn't know where they were going but it was away from the storm cloud. Basil thought about mentioning about heading back to the gorge but he figure they may hit anyway. He was amazed on how calm Matt was with a hyper Miles on his shoulders.

"Put me down. I'm tired of sitting." Miles said in Matt's ear. Matt bent down letting Miles hop off. As he watched Miles run ahead he told Matt,

"What is that about? You were never that good with Bridgette."

"Well we were a lot younger when we heard that Mom and Dad were having their own kid." He shrugged. Truth be told they confessed to each other they were worried about being pushed to the side when Mom and Dad told them they were having a baby. It wasn't uncommon for parents to adopt time adoptees to have parenting practice then toss them to the side when they have their own kid. That happened to one guy Basil knew. He was a fun guy but when the baby came he became isolated and distant. Even after Bridgette was born they still stayed well informed of their lives. But when she was four they became hit and run victims. They weren't even playing near the street and someone purposely veered off the road just to hit them. He woke up in hospital Mom worked at with his head, leg and chest wrapped up in bandages. She was the only person that came in his room except for Dad and Bridgette.

"I wonder if Mom even knows if something is wrong." Basil tilted his gaze upward. He felt Matt's hand on his shoulder,

"I guess we'll find out when we get home."

"Can't you give us a straight answer for once?!" Katherine shouted at the Elucidator. They had been asking questions for what felt like forever and barely learned anything new. JB was still sulking in the corner. **TRY ASKING MORE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.** _Helpful._ Johan thought sarcastically.

"Are you saying that Matt is dead or that he's not in the time stream?" Johan tried. He kept his voice low at the part of Matt being dead incase JB was listening in. **I DON'T KNOW IF MATT IS DEAD BECAUSE I CAN'T LOCATE HIM.**

"If the Elucidator can't find him is it because he's in some secret place that no one discover yet or is he in some alternate dimension?" Chip squinted confused. **BOTH OF THOSE IDEAS ARE POSSIBLE.**

"Maybe we should get JB to help us." Katherine kept her voice low. Johan thought about it. _What if we did all of this just to discover Matt is dead? Could JB handle that?_ He didn't want to cause him more pain but he did deserve to know Matt's fate.

"I'll see if I can get him to come over and help." Johan nodded agreeing with Katherine. For some reason it took a lot of mental effort to walk over there and sit down next to him.

"Feeling any better?" He instantly mentally hit himself. Of course he wasn't feeling any better! He wouldn't be sulking in the corner if he wasn't.

"Johan you know what ironic? Time traveling manages to fix and saves so many people lives but they time traveler can't go back to fix their own. Weird uh?" JB grinned sadly at nothing. Johan didn't know how to respond to that. Then JB shook his head.

"Johan I don't think I'll ever truly get over this but I will push this aside for right now and get to work! Besides Matt and Basil could be criticizing me right now if they saw me sitting here in on the job while they had to go to school." He gave a light smile and stood up. Walking back to the group Johan explained to him what the little they learned.


	42. Chapter 42

JB sighed,

"Your right that Matt could still be alive but it still doesn't make any since that the Elucidator can't find him. It should be able to even if he was in another time hallow." He thumb tapped against the Elucidator screen in his hand.

"Could it be broken or have some sort of glitch?" Chip guessed.

"Show report." JB brought it up to his mouth and spoke into it. When he looked at it again his eyes squinted in confusion. "Weird it's not bringing it up."

Basil watched Rease chase Miles around shouting at him to get back here.

"You can't catch me! I'm too fast!" Miles laughed. Basil was still considering if he should get involved.

"That kid sure has a lot of energy!" Matt smiled.

"He reminds me a lot of you when we were that age." Basil told him. Matt laughed at that. He wasn't wrong. When they were that young he would always be running around playing one game or the other.

"Get back here!" Rease shouted chasing Miles around the stem of a huge mushroom. They made it out of the desert of rocks and where back in the forest.

"You can try to catch me but you can't because I'm faster than lighting!" Miles laughed. _So we found Storm and Lighting at the storm cloud so where are Sky, Ground and Rain?_ A strong sense of danger rushed up his spin.

"Are you alright?" Matt asked concerned. Basil couldn't shake the feeling something bad was going to happen. Something he could prevent.

"I-I'm not sure." He confessed. Then his senses shot up like a rabbit's ears when a bush rattles. His eyes immediately went to the thickest part of the vegetation. It would be the perfect place to hide. A loud cracking sound erupted from the mushroom Miles and Rease were standing under. Rease had just caught Miles and he was throwing a fit about him cheating. The two looked up in time to see the huge thing about to flatten them. Miles let out a terrified shriek. Before he could shout a warning Matt was already there. One of the guns in his hand. Was he planning on shooting it out of the way? His hand was a blur as it moved upwards but the gun suddenly was developed in a yellow glow. The huge stem was just about to crush them but it broke into pieces. The larger piece fell to the side next to them as the end of the stem landed on the ground right in front of them just a few inches short from Matt's feet. In his hand was no longer a gun but a katana! Matt stared confused at the sword in his hand. Basil could the light reflect off the blade at the right angle to see the winged horse logo engrave on the blade, right above the hilt.

"Well that sure wasn't expected!" Matt laughed. Basil couldn't believe, he just barely avoided being crushed and he's laughing!

"Hey Basil I think I figure out what the G-K stands for. Gun Katana." He turned to him showing off the blade.

"Now that I think about it that makes sense. The logo on them is a winged horse: Pegasus. So it makes sense that it's a gun and a katana; two different items used in a fight. One is close combat and the other is medium range." Basil explained his thinking.

"Bah ha ha! Matt's a flying pony!" Miles laughed making fun of him but Matt laughed right along with him. _Flying?_ That got him thinking. Then an idea emerged. He lit his ring and opened his box.

"What's up?" Rease asked. Basil ignored him for the moment.

"Hey Lunas can you see if you can find Wes and/or anyone else?" He told the owl. Lunas nodded in reply. _Good thinking Basil. If you have trouble tracking them down lead them to you._ Lunas agreed then took flight.

"Thanks Lunas!" Basil shouted out.

"That doesn't make any since. It should be showing all of the actions it took." JB looked up confused.

"Can we do anything? Can we get out of here?" Katherine asked worried. Johan shared her concern. If the Elucidator wasn't working what would take them home? Or into time for that matter.

"Show options." JB brought it up to his mouth. Then he disappeared.

"JB!" Katherine screamed. He would've screamed to but he was scared stiff.

JB appeared in completely empty time hallow.

"What are you doing?! Take me back to the time hallow with Johan, Katherine and Chip!" He demanded. Instead it flashed a screen on an old fashion building on fire. A kid ran back in, his face already covered in dirt and ash. JB knew what he was watching. It was originally happened to Matt if he didn't interfere. Matt/Jack had a small young girl in his arms as he ran towards the exit. The beams began to crack and splinter. He looked up in time to the beams starting to shift downwards. There was no way he was going to be able to get out in time. The girl grabbed onto him tightly but he ripped her off of him and tossed her out the door right as the beams began to fall. Smoke and flames covered the sight of the exit. A few seconds before the beams hit him Jesse appeared grabbed him and disappeared. _Why are you showing me this?_ The screen shift to see him and Matt/Jack float through time. Before either of them had time to react what happened Jack began to shrink and began to grow younger till he was a young baby. Jesse watched the confused him holding the baby unsure of what to do or what happened. Time moved faster now. Jesse watched as he and Brook brought Matt home for the first time. Then he saw how he saved Basil and how they brought him home. They turned one, then two, up to four till the screen showed Brook holding their new baby Bridgette. Then the turned to a part he never seen before. Four year old Matt and Basil were talking in Basil's room about their concern about being forgotten in the shuffle with Bridgette. _Matt, Basil, we could never forget about you two!_ Then they grew up a few more years. JB cringed as he watched the car run over his sons. They laid on the grassy yard unconscious and bleeding. An ambulance came and rushed them to the hospital stood waiting for the patents to arrive. Jesse couldn't help but notice her concern and worried face as she was it was them hidden among several other doctors standing by. But as quickly as it showed up it disappeared, replaced by a cool, calm and collected doctor. They quickly rushed them in the treatment room where they put them on anesthetic and began to cut off their clothes and clean the wounds and bandage them. Once that was done they moved them to hospital beds and moved them to private rooms. Jesse showed up talking to the police demanding to press charges. The screen split into two. Basil woke up first as Brook entered the room. He looked in pain despite all the pain killers being pumped into his blood. Brook gave him a hug avoid his injuries, Basil started to shake like he was threatening to cry. Brook stroked his head and whispered something to him calming him down. She pulled back and laid his head back down on the pillow, checked the monitor, kissed his forehead then walked out of the room. Matt was next. While one side showed Basil falling back to sleep the one on the left showed Matt already sitting up in bed rubbing his head. His eyes were scrunched shut like the light hurt his eyes or his headache was that bad. Brook slowly laid him back down and messed with a monitor for a second before pulling the blanket up to cover him more. She kissed his head then left. It was the next day and Jesse showed up with Bridgette holding his hand. He talked with Brook for a minute leaving Bridgette with her before going to visit Basil then Matt. Jesse remembered all of this perfectly. Bridgette didn't come home the night they got hit making sure they were stable and that there wasn't any internal injuries. He got a call that night from the police saying that the person confirmed to have run over them fled the country so they couldn't grab. He had never had been so infuriated before. Jesse was so lost in his memory he didn't notice that it change to a few years afterwards. Something about this sparked his memory. He watched even closer, then it hit him as were he knew this! It was the same morning all of this started. The kids having breakfast, Matt and Basil heading off to school. He left early that day in case something turned the wrong the way. He paid close attention on Basil and Matt's walk to school. Nothing seemed weird. They were one second then they weren't.


	43. Chapter 43

_Why can't you show me who sent them?!_ JB shouted in his head. They showed up in the time hallow were JB was already stressed about the others showing up first for no known reason. He watched all they went through. It was heart wrenching to watch Basil slowly die all over again knowing how it ended: Basil dead and time was still so broken. _Basil I'm so sorry I couldn't keep my promise to keep you safe!_ It was like watching the worst movie ever where the main character was killed for no reason. He turned away for a minute to collect himself but when he turned back the scene changed to Matt charging Washington. Jesse expected that to be the end but the scene continued with Matt as it changed it to someplace clearly not on Earth.

"Wait where is he?" He asked the Elucidator. **I DO NOT KNOW.**

"How can you show me this without knowing where it is?" Jesse demanded. **THERE IS NO KNOWN ANSWER.** _Ok, Ok Matt's alive from the looks of it. So how do I get him back?_ The screen turned off before his liking.

"What no! Bring it back the last image!" He shouted at the wall. Instead of complying it sent him back to the time hallow with the others.

"JB where did you go?" Katherine nearly shouted.

"You're right, Matt could still be alive but where is he is the question." He answered looking far off into the wall.

It was a while but Lunas returned.

"Ah Lunas your back. Did you have any success?" Basil asked as Lunas dove down to hover in front of him. _More than you think._ Lunas said then perched on his shoulder. Foliage in front of them split apart to reveal Wes and two other people. One of them Basil recognized.

"Silvia!" Basil said stunned.

"Basil? What are you doing here?" She replied.

"You two know each other?" Matt turned to him. Basil nodded.

"We're in the same class." He answered.

"I see you had some luck finding some of the others." Wes faced Rease and Miles. Matt laughed,

"You bet! This is Rease, Guardian of Storm and Miles, Guardian of Lighting." He introduced.

"A kid is part of our team?" Wes asked more confused than stunned. "I found Ground and Rain."

"The name's Cooper. Room 2C." The stranger introduced himself. So he was in the same room as Rease. He looked similar to Matt with the dark hair and by the way they towered over him by an inch. There was a long tube shape bag over his shoulder. A wooden handle poked out of the top. Cooper raised his hand to show off the silver ring on his finger. Again the only difference was the image in the center. His was a single rain drop. Silvia showed her ring, a lone tree. _So she must be Ground._

"So the only one missing is Sky." Rease said. _How ironic that the Boss of the Elementals is the last one left._ Lunas said almost amused.

"Huh?" Basil was confused. The Boss of the Elementals? _The role of the Sky is to color and cover everything. Ever since there has been Elementals the Sky has been referred to as the Boss element. There has never been a time where another Element has claimed the role of Boss._ Lunas explained.

"I see." Basil muttered.

"You can talk to your partner? I'm jealous!" Silvia suddenly appeared in front of him startling him. Miles started laughing.

"Basil's a bird brain!" He mocked.

"Hey shut it!" Rease spat at Miles but Silvia quickly scowled him for it,

"Don't yell at Miles!"

"And why should I listen to you?!" He shouted at her.

"I'll tell you why!" She shouted back. It was then he lost interest in the fight. Wes walked over next to him and crossed his arms,

"If you're going to do anything, do it the extreme! And those two are arguing to the extreme!" He said getting pumped. _You got to be kidding! He's getting motivated by this? No wonder his partner is a boxing kangaroo!_ In the midst of this Matt started laughing. Basil wished he could switched places with Lunas as he zipped back into his box.

"Hey, Hey!" Basil patted the air stepping between the two. "We have bigger things to worry about. Like how we're going to find Sky."

"Your right." Rease left the fight.

"We found Storm and Lighting under the storm cloud. And Basil you said you ended up in some random place right?" Matt asked. Basil instantly understood what he was getting at. What if all the Guardians appeared in places that corresponded with their Element. He nodded.

"Where did you guys appear in this place?" He turned to the new comers.

"I showed up next to a waterfall." Cooper answered.

"In some rocky place." Silvia shrugged.

"I remember being in a clearing." Wes said surprisingly calm. Basil thought about his first memory here. It was some place were the mushroom trees were spread out. Was he in a clearing too and just didn't remember it?

"So where would find the sky?" Rease said out loud grabbing his chin in thought.

"Up! Stupid!" Miles laughed at him.

"Why you!" Rease lifted a fist towards him. Basil grabbed his shoulder before it could go any farther.

"Wait Rease! I think he's right. The sky covers all so it would make sense for it to be at the highest point." He explained.

"Oi nice thinking Basil!" Wes cheered. "I remember seeing a really tall mountain on my way to the volcano!" Basil smiled at him.

"Perfect!" He said getting pumped up now to.


	44. Chapter 44

Wes led the way through the thick jungle. Basil glanced back at Matt and Cooper who were trailing at the back talking to each other. He couldn't get over how much a like they were. They both had a relaxed and friendly attitude, loved baseball, about the same height and hair color, and the scariest part was they both had a katana as a weapon! He wondered if Cooper was a time adoptive because he could see him as Matt's biological brother. That got him to look down at the ground. Did he have any biological siblings? Dad never told him what happened to his birth parents after his first encounter with the moon. Suddenly he felt all alone in the entire universe. The only person that understood him wasn't even a human! _Is this how the moon feels? Always being out shined by the sun and only able to be seen at certain times. Alone expect for the far away stars behind it._ He was used to solitude and being left in his thoughts. That's how he always was. Was he meant to always be alone in his separate space? Basil knows how much his parents love him by the way they stand up for him but he could see it in the subtle expression when people mention him. A glance, an untimed shift in transferring weight over to the other foot, a quick breath. He was a moon in a crowd of suns. Something caught the corner of his eye. He looked to the side to see a man in a white dress shirt and a purple tie loosely tied around his neck, and black pants and dress shoes. His hair was a dusted blonde. He had a look of sympathy in his eyes. But as soon as he took the next step he was gone. Basil came to a full stop and looked at where the man stood. His stop was so abrupt Rease ran into him.

"Hey why did you stop like that?" He demanded. Basil turned to him like he completely forgotten everyone else.

"Did you see that?" He asked. Rease gave him a confused look.

"See what?" Wes asked noticing everyone had stopped.

"There was someone standing over there." Basil looked back at the spot where he was standing. Of course he wasn't there.

"No one's there." Silvia commented.

"He was only there for a second. But he was there!" Basil said.

"Maybe your eyes were playing tricks on you. You know seeing something that looks like a human but it was really just a tree and/or a formation that looked like human." Cooper suggested.

"I know what I saw! He was there!" He defended. Matt looked taken back by his shouting. He was never one to shout, he was always the one stopping the shouting.

"Alright, alright let's try to calm down a bit." Matt patted the air.

"You believe me don't you Matt?" He asked calm again. Matt looked down at the ground then lifted his head to answer but Rease beat him to it.

"You were just seeing things! No one was there! End of story! Seriously how are you one of us?!" Rease shouted. How are you one of us? The story of his life. It was worse than being called a freak or monster. At least he wouldn't be alone if he was one of those. He wasn't anything, he was all alone. Basil took a step back then bolted past Wes.

"Basil!" Matt shouted out to him. Then took off running after him.

"If you keep going straight you'll hit the base of the mountain!" Wes called after them. Basil ignored them both and just kept running. He kept running after his sides started burning and revolted. He wasn't mad with Rease, how could he when he was telling the truth. Basil didn't understand why it hurt him so bad this time. He always known that's how people felt about him. His birth parents felt enough that way to try to kill him. Why would it be any different now? Basil tilted his head even lower and sped up. Eventually he was forced to stop. But not by the pain in his sides, those had gone numb a long time ago, but by the quaking his lungs threatening to push the tears over the edge. The ground under his feet were no longer the dirt floor of the jungle but the hard rock of the mountain. He had run apart way up the mountain and never notice. Now he strolled upwards holding his arms, still feeling the tears wanting to come out but he kept them in. Seeing a large standing rock he sat down under it just feeling the air around him. He wrapped his knees up in his arms and hid his face. Basil didn't know how long he sat there but it felt like a long time when he heard a strange sound. It sounded like shifting then falling rock. He perk his head up to see if he could spot the source of the sound. Nothing. He got up then looked completely around till he heard a cry for help farther up the mountain. Basil ran up as fast as he could trying to find the source. Then he found it. Someone about his age was hanging from the side of steep, narrow cliff.

"Hang on!" Basil shouted running to help. The path to get there was narrow but he had to help so he inched along the ledge. As soon as he reached a deep recess in the cliff where near where the person was hanging he dropped on his stomach and extended a hand but he was just out of reach.

"Try to slide over and I'll grab your wrist!" Basil instructed. The boy slowly shuffled over to him. As soon as he was in reach he grabbed his wrist. And good thing to because the moment his grip latched on the earth from under the boy's hands broke. The boy stared downward at the long drop and had a look of panic on his face. Basil dropped his other arm down.

"Give me your other hand and I'll help pull you up!" He explained. The boy swung his arm to grab his wrist. He had a terrified look on his face. Basil grunted as he slowly managed to pull him up to safety. The boy paddled his feet and managed to gain a little traction to help the last bit. They flopped safely in the recess panting.

"Are you alright?" Basil asked once his breath was back. The boy nodded gratefully,

"Thanks to you!"

"How did you even get there?" He asked, then he noticed the ring on his finger. It was different from the other Guardians but it wasn't like Matt's either. This one looked really nice. The center was a circle with a blue gem center. From the way he was seeing it, it looked like there might be something engraved inside the stone but he couldn't be sure. It had a strange design on the band that reminded him of leafs and their stems. The boy looked a little embarrassed when he asked.

"Truthfully I don't really know. All I really remember is walking to school then suddenly appearing in this strange space where I heard two voices. They told me it was time for me to take the team as the boss. Then this ring appeared and was sent to the top of this mountain." He looked down at the ring on his finger and continued. "When I was walking down the ground under me broke and sent me over the edge. You must think I'm crazy." Basil couldn't believe it. This guy was the head, the boss of the Elements! He seemed ordinary enough. He had light brown hair and wore an orange and white jacket with dark grey cargo pants and orange and white shoes.

"Not at all. In fact the same thing more or less happened to me. The name's Basil Burnish." He stood up and offered him a hand up.

"Kayson." The stranger took his hand.


	45. Chapter 45

"Kayson Sharik." Basil helped him stand up.

"Nice to meet you, Boss." He smiled then chuckled. Kayson gave an unsure look but quickly replaced it with a smile.

"We better get moving to safer ground." Basil said. Kayson nodded in agreement. They took extra care crossing the ledge but made it across safely. Now it was back down the path avoiding the edges.

"So what are you doing here?" Kayson asked starting a conversation.

"I'm not really sure. Everything seems all messed up. We were trying to find you but I guess I overacted and ran off." Basil admitted. Kayson looked confused. Basil forgot that Kayson didn't know there were others yet or why he was here alone.

"The rest of the Elementals and my brother somehow arrived here and we were just basically trying to find everyone. But when we were heading our way here I know I saw someone but the others just think I was seeing things. I know someone was there! He was looking right at me. I could see the whites of his eyes!" He explained.

"I believe you." Kayson said. Basil stared at him like he was levitating. "Why would you defend a fancy so hard? You don't look like someone who would go making up stories."

"Thank you." Basil said quietly. Kayson smiled in return. There was the sound of beating feet and Matt around a boulder. He smiled when he saw Basil.

"Basil! I'm glad I found you." Matt ran up to them out of breath. He put his hands on legs taking deep breaths.

"Matt what are you doing here?" He asked surprised. Matt stood back up right.

"When you ran off I was worried so I chased after you. But when you went around a bend you disappeared." He said then he seemed to just notice Kayson standing next to him.

"Who's your friend?"

"Kayson this is my brother Matt. Matt this is the Sky Guardian Kayson." He introduced.

"You found the Sky! Great work Basil!" Matt smiled.

"I really didn't do that much." He shrugged.

"Not true. You saved my life!" Kayson told him. Basil looked past Matt shoulder to see the strange man standing there watching them. The corners of lips bent into a smile and gave a signal nod.

"You!" He shouted at the man but the time Matt turned his head around he vanished.

"You saw your mystery person again." Matt looked around. Basil's heart sunk. Matt didn't sound like he believed him. He was going to think he was nuts.

"But he was there I saw him!" Kayson came to his aid. Basil stared in disbelief. Did he really see him or was he just saying that?

"Dressed up in a suit with his tie loosely tied around his neck with blonde hair, right Basil." Kayson turned to see if he would confirm. He nodded. Basil couldn't believe it someone else saw him to! He wasn't losing it.

"I wonder why he won't show himself to the rest of us." Matt rubbed the top of his head.

"Maybe Lunas will tell us." He suggested.

"Lunas?" Kayson asked confused.

"You'll see." Basil reassured lighting his ring. He couldn't help but notice Kayson's startled reaction to the flaming ring. How much did he know? Or better question, how much didn't he know? Basil continued by slamming the ring into the hole in the box. Lunas rushed out in explosion of purple flames. _You found the Boss I see._ Lunas looked at Kayson who took a step back in reply.

"W-Why is that owl on fire! What's going on?!" Kayson flipped out.

"Calm down now." Matt patted the air.

"Don't worry, Lunas is friendly. You see each Guardian has a partner that are contained in one of these boxes." Basil started but Lunas cut him off. _Box Weapons. They're called Box Weapons. There are more than the Elemental Boxes._ Lunas informed. "Or I guess more specifically, Box Weapons. The only way to open them up is with you Elemental Ring. It's not hard. You focus your strong emotions, your resolve into the ring and lights up. Try it." He encouraged. Kayson looked at the ring on his finger. His eyes narrowed slightly seeing he was concentrating. Then the ring's top was engulfed in orange flames. Kayson was first startled but then a smile crossed his face. Then he looked back up at him.

"Your owl talks to you." He said not sure if he understood.

"Well he actually talks to me telepathically. I have to talk out loud to talk back." Basil explained. It was then he realized something. "Wait, haven't you found your partner yet. I guess not since you just got here and all." He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Then I guess that's what I have to do next." Kayson let the flame die out.

"From what we discovered all the boxes are in the place relating to your element." Matt said.

"And it doesn't always have to do where you showed up either." Basil added.

"So where would mine be?" Kayson asked. Matt looked up thinking,

"Let's see. You arrived on the mountain so I doubt it will be up there. Maybe someplace that connects to where you were before you came here."

"Great idea! I found Lunas in the place I last remember!" Basil was quick to comment. He glanced at the owl that perched on his shoulder.

"The last place I remember being was at my locker at Scepres Middle School." Kayson stated. Basil couldn't believe it! Everyone but Miles was in his school and he bet Miles lived in the feeding area as well. _Why do seem so surprise that all the Guardians live in the same area? The Guardians have always been near each other. The same way all the elements come together under the sky._ Basil guessed he had a point but he wasn't going to continue down that road. _How are we supposed to find something related to a locker out here?!_ His mind shouted.


	46. Chapter 46

"I guess we should start by regrouping with the others." Matt suggested. The walk felt longer than Basil remembered. And something about what Matt said bugged him. The part when he ran around a bend then disappeared. He didn't remember any bend. Could have something happened to intervene with Matt catching up to him and getting on the mountain sooner? He knew Time was broken, but could Space be as well? _Something bothering you Basil?_ Lunas asked.

"I'm trying to make since of something. It's just that how is that I ran up the mountain without remembering it, especially this high." Basil confessed. Suddenly it felt like someone turned up the gravity and pressure to right below his breaking point. He collapsed to one knee, his hands gripping his head.

"Basil!" He heard them shout but it sounded far away even though he could see them right in front of him. _Don't fight it. Go with it. You've suppressed yourself your whole life._ Lunas sounded perfectly clear. Basil decided to trust him and let his body crash to the ground. His vision went white but didn't stay that way. He saw Dad, Johan, Katherine, and Chip talking about something. He couldn't hear them but saw they were getting really intense about it. The scene changed to a yellow box weapon sitting hidden in rocky area. The symbol on Matt's guns and ring was marked on the box. It changed again to Gary and Hodge's boss sitting in his throne like seat. He look anxious and impatient. His brown were as menacing as he remembered. It changed again to see different colored flames fusing into one point then die out to reveal an orange weapon box. Everything went white then Matt and Kayson came back into view. They were looking down at him their face full of concern.

"Basil are you alright?" Matt asked helping him sit up. He rubbed his forehead.

"Yea I think so. We're running out of time. Gary and Hodge's boss is becoming impatient." He put his hand down.

"It's a long story." Basil explained seeing Kayson's confused face. Kayson nodded still looking confused. Matt gave him a hand up and Lunas instantly perched on his shoulder. _What did you see?_

"I saw a box weapon with Matt's symbol on it in a rocky area and Gary and Hodge's boss. Johan, Katherine, Chip and Dad talking about something in the time hallow. And they sky box. It was weird. Different color flames came together and the box weapon appeared." Basil said. _Sometimes these things are metaphorical and other times they're just as they appear to be._ Lunas told him leaning close to his face. Basil nodded in acknowledgement. 

"So what do we do?" Kayson asked. He looked at him unsure.

"I don't know but I do know that we need to get Matt back to our world so he can find his box and tell my dad I'm not dead." Basil answered. Kayson gave him another confused look.

"Long story short, something happened that caused Basil to lose all of his organs and we thought he was dead." Matt explained but Kayson looked even more confused.

"Let's just get back together with the others." Basil said breaking everything up. Lunas zipped back in his box and they continued their trek. It felt long and possibly even longer but they regrouped with the others at the start of the mountain.

"This must be the Sky boss! Great work you two!" Wes said.

"Everyone this is Kayson. Kayson meet Silvia, Wes, Rease, Miles, Cooper, and Miles." He introduced each person. Miles was asleep with on Wes's back.

"It's nice to meet all of you." Kayson said.

"It's all ours boss!" Rease said walking up to him. "Don't worry I'll have you back as your right hand man!" Basil gave him a shocked look. Rease as a right hand man? _Well now that I think about it, it makes sense. A boss needs a right hand man and Rease is the only one who seems interested._

"What is Stupid talking about?" Miles rubbed his eye waking up. Then he seemed to Kayson. "Ha ha I'm so good I found another I found another subordinate in my sleep!" Miles sounded proud of himself.

"Shut it! The boss is not your subordinate!" Rease defended Kayson who patted the air to get him to calm down. Basil leaned close to Kayson's ear and whispered,

"Rease the Guardian of Storm while Miles is the Guardian of Lighting. I guess you could say those two really clash. No pun intended." Rease and Miles kept at it.

"That little kid is a Guardian?!" Kayson whispered back surprised.

"Miles is superior in every way! Miles should be the boss!" Miles shouted at Rease.

"Why you little!" Rease raised a fist.

"Ah! Rease calm down." Kayson put a hand on his arm. Rease looked back at him, his face calm.

"Boss." He muttered the backed down. Cooper started to laugh,

"You're a real natural! No wonder why you're Sky." Kayson shook his hands back and forth rejecting the praise,

"I-I can't be the boss! I've never been good at anything! I never led before in my life!" But Cooper laughed again.

"Don't worry about it. You get used to these guys pretty quick." Silvia reassured.

"So the next family has come together at last." A voice giggled. Everyone looked around but no one said it. Then Basil remembered where he heard that voice.

"You!" He shouted at the sky.

"No need to get worked up!" A voice said back angrily.

"Oi! I know you! You're the voice from when I got my ring!" Wes shouted now.

"Yes it's true we gave you the rings but we weren't the ones who choice to give them to you." The kind voice spoke. "We know give you a choice. You can choice one of you to go back to your world but you will not have any connection to the rest though." Basil couldn't believe it. They had a chance to go back but only one of them could go. He remember what he said on the mountain. That he needed to get Matt back to tell Dad and the others about him.

"Matt this is your chance!" He grabbed Matt's shoulders.

"Why should Matt be the one to go? And not one of us?" Rease asked accusingly.

"Because he's not one of us!" Basil explained

"I think we should send Miles back." Kayson spoke. He could completely understand why he thought it would be best to send Miles back, really he could but Matt still seemed like the better option. Everyone started bickering on who should go back.

"I don't think one of us is supposed to go back!" Basil broke up the argument. Everyone looked at him with blank expressions. "Can't you feel it? Like all of this is just the begging. We we're chosen to have the rings for a reason and we have to figure out for what. Matt isn't a Guardian and he could be holding the key to save Time." He continued.

"Save Time?" Kayson said. Basil sighed and told them the whole story from always having this strange connection to the moon to banging his head to helping his dad restore time to his _death._

"I think we should send Matt back." Kayson spoke up when he was done. Basil smiled when he was everyone agreeing.

"So you made your choice?" A depressed voice asked.

"Yes. We'll be sending Matt back." Basil replied.


	47. Chapter 47

"But we still don't know what to do!" Katherine whined.

"You really couldn't recognize the place he went?" Chip asked. JB nodded in reply,

"I never seen anything like it!"

"He might as well be on another planet!" Katherine exclaimed. JB opened his mouth to talk but the Elucidator in his hand started blaring a siren sound, demanding attention. JB lifted it up to look at it but it figured he was too slow and projected the message on the wall. **MATT HAS BEEN DETECTED. WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO TO HIS CURRENT LOCATION?**

"Yes!" They shouted in perfect harmony. The next thing Johan knew he was zipping the blackness of time.

"Wait JB where are we going?" Katherine asked.

"Uh it looks like…I don't know! All it says is some beach." Johan could see JB's startled reaction in the Elucidator's glow. The lights grew brighter and brighter till he could feel is very being torn apart. His head and the rest of his body felt numb. None of his scenes worked properly. His vision was blurry at best. _Is that the ocean I hear? Right, JB said we be at a beach. I hope I'm not too close the water._ He flexed his fingers feeling the sand underneath. Then he tried his legs and feet. Same result, sand. _Ok so I don't have to worry about drowning as an immediate threat._ Johan blinked a few times and took some deep breaths. His vision came back to 20/20. JB was already walking around, scoping out the area. He forced himself to stand up. Katherine and Chip were still laying in the sand. Katherine slowly stood up and Chip moaned and rolled over.

"Matt! Matt! We're are you?!" JB made a megaphone with his hands and shouted. Katherine helped Chip get back to his feet. Johan was still getting over his time sickness or something actually moved behind that rock.

"JB I think there's something over there." Johan called to him. JB turned his head in the direction Johan was talking about. It happened again and he was sure that it wasn't his time sickness playing tricks on his eyes.

"Dad?" Matt appeared around the rocks. Johan watched twenty years fall from JB's face as he saw Matt. A scared frown flipped into a joyful smile.

"Matt!" He bolted over to him, smuggling him in a hug. Matt returned the hug but he looked like he had something important to say. There was something different about him. Johan mentally slapped himself for not recognizing the guns strapped to his legs as the difference sooner.

"I thought I lost you forever!" JB muttered. Matt gave him an extra moment of the hug then pulled out.

"Dad you'll never believe it! Basil's alive!" JB smile disappeared as fast as it arrived.

"Matt you were right there when it happened. Basil's gone." He shook his head sadly.

"He's not dead! We left right after it happened. If we go back a second after we left, I guarantee we won't find the body!" Matt defended.

"Matt what's go-" Johan started to ask but a fire color shot stopped them. The shot went right next to his ear and impacted the sand several yards behind him. They all looked at the direction the shot came from surprised to see Gary and Hodge's boss. His gun was still raised.

"I'm done waiting." He took another shot, aiming right at them. All Johan know there was a scream. He wasn't sure if it was from him or Katherine. Two thick shining yellow streaks collided with the fire color one at the halfway point. Matt had been the one who stopped the attacks by firing his own guns.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that." Matt had a serious smile on his face.

"Who are you supposed to be?" The boss asked more annoyed than curious.

"Matt. The next Moon Guardian, Basil's subordinate and brother. Friend and ally to the Elementals." Matt said keeping the look on his face.

"The Moon Guardian's subordinate huh? Then you can die first!" The boss let off another powerful shot but Matt didn't look worried.

"You all might want to take cover." Matt looked over his shoulder at them. Johan ran to the rocky area behind to hide behind the boulders. Matt stood there waiting for the incoming attack. The attack erupted into a powerful blow as it made contact.

"Matt!" JB shouted at the top of his lungs. But when the smoke cleared Matt stood their unhurt. Now in his hand was a katana instead of the gun.

"Impressive trick but that's not going to save you." The boss pulled out another gun and aimed both of them behind him. A fiery blast rocketed him forward with incredible speed.

Matt was taken back at how fast he could move but he kept the Katana in defensive position Cooper showed him on their walk. But at the last moment the boss tossed his guns in the air and rammed a hammer of a fist in his gut. Matt was pushed off the ground and landed on his back hard. And all from that one blow! _This guy is good! But Basil's counting on me. I can't be beat here!_ The boss came in for another strike but Matt pulled the trigger from the gun releasing the shot. He looked angry but moved out of the way. Matt grabbed the katana at his side and got back on his feet.

"You whelp!" The guns feel back down and he caught them without a blink of an eye. He took aim on his prey. _He used his guns to propel him forward, why shouldn't I be able to do the same thing?_ Keeping the Katana up he'd positioned the gun to the side and pulled the trigger right when he heard the Boss' gun go off. Matt managed to avoid the main blast but not the aftershock. His body went flying his own shot increasing his speed. _This isn't good!_ He was heading straight for where Dad and the others were hiding. Matt forced his trigger figure to ease up stopping the forward motion a bit. He angled it at the center of the boulder in front of and pulled the trigger again. The blast managed to stop his body from hitting the rock at the very last moment but not without its own toll. Johan happened to be standing up behind that rock and was hit by the edge of the shot. _Johan!_

Johan touchdown on the sand still moving. His momentum slowed as more and more sand build up behind him. He wasn't hurt just a bit spooked by getting caught in the aftermath. When he pushed himself up something poked his hand. Johan swiped the sand away expecting it to be a rock and he was really surprised when it turned out to be a small box with a hole on the top. It had a strange design of a horse head with a wing on each side of the head. The logo was on the four sides riming the box. _What was it?_ He was about to tried to open the top but Katherine interfered.

"Johan, what are you doing?! Get back here!" She shouted. He scrambled back to his feet and ran for the others.

Matt watched as Johan grabbed the box out of the sand. It had the same Pegasus design as the G-K's! Basil was right, his box was back here. _I get it, a rocky place! Not a location but a situation!_

"Johan toss me the box!" He shouted over. Johan looked confused for a moment but then thrown the box in his general direction. It was a diving catch on Matt's part. He caught the box in mid-flight then rolled on his shoulder so he was kneeling. Matt lit up the ring on his finger and slammed it in the hole. He pointed the box at the boss who waited to see what would happen. The lid split apart in shining fire. It quickly died down to reveal a white horse with its main, tail, hooves, and wings made of the glimmering yellow fire floating in midair.


	48. Chapter 48

The horse flapped its wings testing them and shook its head. Boss glared at the horse.

"Let's go! Pegasus!" Matt shouted up to the horse. The horse reeled back and kicked its front legs in a fury before charging at the boss. Matt pushed off the sand like a sprinter's block. He switched the other blaster into a katana. His focus was dead set on the boss. The boss seemed conflicted on who his target should be. Him or the horse? Pegasus got to him a lot faster. The boss debated too long, Pegasus was just about to smash him with his hooves. A giant dust cloud kicked up. Matt charged in with the swords at the ready but he couldn't see a thing. Then he could clearly see a bright orange light speeding towards. There was no time to react so as a result he hit by the shot in the chest. But he managed to shift the swords into the guns and pulled the triggers, launching him back with the attack. Though he could still the pain blasting at his chest like a rocket's engine pointed at him as it blasted off. If he hadn't gone with the shot he would have been killed instantly. Far too quickly the energy in his shot died out and he was sent flying in the air right above the ocean. All he could do was just fall, letting the air whip his clothes and hair. He could hear a loud whiny over the rushing air then feel something brush against him. Matt quickly flipped his body over and wrapped his arms around the object. The thing that saved him was Pegasus. Now he was hovering yards above the ocean in the sky safely on the horse's back.

"Thanks for the save Pegasus!" He patted Pegasus's neck. The dust settled down below to show the boss glaring up at him. Matt smiled back.

"You insufficient whelp!" A flame burst from something on the boss's fist. A ring with Sky class flames! _I guess I should've seen that coming!_ The boss brought out a box weapon of his own and injected the flames from the ring into it. When he was done charging it he directed towards him but what came out was an albino lion with different spots around the mane were flames were burning.

"A lion?" Matt asked confused. How was a lion going to bring him down to the ground? The boss didn't look worried though just really annoyed. Matt let a shot at the lion but it stood there just waiting. Before it was halfway there the lion roared and the shot dissipated. _What?! A simple roar blocked my attack! No it didn't block it, it dispersed all of its flames making it totally useless!_ This was bad if a roar could stop his attack from this far he didn't want to see what it could do up close.

"Where's your cockiness now, you worthless bug!" The boss flashed him a taunting smile.

"If you have any tricks left Pegasus now's the time to show them." Matt leaned closed to the horse's ear. The horse reeled back and spread out its showing off the shining burning wings. Matt looked closely at the wings. They seemed almost to be absorbing the sunlight making them gleam even brighter. Then Pegasus jerked down towards the lion and the boss and gave its wings a powerful flap. Rays broke off the wings rushing down going faster and faster. Then suddenly each ray split in two! Still as powerful looking as the original rays if not, stronger.

"Bester!" The boss demanded. The lion roared again and the rays stopped in mid-flight like they hit an invisible wall. Some began to fizzle out while others were on their way to burning out. Pegasus speed towards the blocked rays threatening to fling Matt off with the speed. Matt didn't get it. Why would Pegasus fly right towards a wall were it knew its attack was being blocked. Then he understood. Right before Pegasus's front hooves smashed into the blockade Matt jumped off its back. Pegasus was stopped by the attack but he was still going. He quickly positioned the guns towards the ground and pulled the triggers before he crashed down on the beach. Now all the rays were gone. Pegasus cried in pain.

"Pull back Pegasus! I'll handle it!" He shouted up at the horse. Pegasus instantly flapped its wings and pulled back from the invisible wall. Matt looked back to see the boss and Bester glare at him. The lion's mouth was open showing off its sharp looking fangs. Then the boss's glare changed in tense smile.

"I have to admit that figuring out Bester's roar will only stop flame based attacks was impressive. Normally people don't get it till I explain it to them at their ends." Boss almost sound genuine.

"Well I am the subordinate to the Moon Guardian. And besides it was mainly Pegasus's doing." Matt admitted. "Thanks for the insight Pegasus!" He shouted up.

"But I can see that you are still new to all of this, and that will be your downfall!" The boss went back to his serious look. "Bester get rid of this nuisance!" He shouted. The lion growled harshly and black colored scars began to run across its face then back. _Not scars, stripes!_

"It's not a lion! But a liger!" Matt said surprised. This was going from bad to worse! And just when he thought he had a leg up!


	49. Chapter 49

Matt retreated a step intimidated by the liger growling at him. The liger's glare was just as intense and harsh as his owner's. He fired one shot then one right after it. Bester roared again and the shots fizzled out.

"Lucky for you I need you alive to deliver a message." The boss said and the liger's mouth closed, shifting back into a white lion. Matt gave him a curious glance. "Tell the Elementals, especially that whelp of Sky, that they don't stand a chance!" He lifted the box up to his side and let the liger turn back into flames then zip back in the box. The instant the lid closed he disappeared. Matt waited a moment to make sure he wasn't coming back then let out a sigh of relief.

"Matt are you alright?!" He turned to find Dad running up to him with the others running after him. Matt slid the guns back into their holsters.

"Yea. Nothing I haven't been through one way or another." Matt reassured.

"What the heck was all of that?" Johan shouted. Pegasus's head appeared over his shoulder and Matt stroked it. Now that he could see its face clearly he could see that its eyes were a sun flame yellow and the flames for its mane mimicked the form of actual mane hair. With the flames in bunches that looked like thick locks of hair.

"Proof that Basil's alive." Matt replied. He lifted the open box up and let Pegasus retreat back inside. They gave him a blank look in response.

"I won't have known that it was the ring that let me open up the box if I haven't seen Basil do it." He explained connecting the box to the belt on his holsters. "And besides he knew that Basil was the Moon Guardian. That's why he came at me so hard." Everyone gave him an unsure look. _I guess they won't believe me till they see Basil for themselves._ Dad waved his hand back and forth like he was wiping something away.

"That aside. Where did you go?" He question.

"For an exact location? I have no idea! But we did go through a mushroom jungle, mushroom gorge, a rocky plain, and a mountain." Matt said making everyone look at him strange. "I guess you had to have been there." He rubbed the back of his head.

"Whatever the reason is, I'm just glad you're back and safe." Dad put a hand on his shoulder. Matt was still bummed that he didn't believe him but he was glad to see him again. And knowing that Basil was alive and well help tremendously. He pulled out his key chain from his pocket and grasped it tightly. Everything turned black as they traveled through Outer Time. They arrived back at the same Time Hallow. _Don't worry Basil. I'll watch out for them._

Basil watched the spot were Matt stood a moment ago. _At least Matt is safe back with Dad._ He thought relieved.

"So what do we do now?" Rease asked.

"Your real training begins now." The laughing voice giggled. The real training? So all of what they just went through was what? A warm up?

"You may have the Elemental rings but you are far from becoming the actual Elementals!" The angry voice said roughly.

"Training? What kind of training?" Kayson asked.

"Training that will prep you for the real fight to see if you are worth of coming the Elementals." The calm voice explained.

"But I thought we were already the Elementals." Basil asked confused.

"You are merely a candidate family!" The angry voice spoke again.

"Candidate family?" Cooper said just as confused as everyone else.

"There is another candidate family who desires the power of the rings." The soft voice returned.

"Only one family can have the rings." A sad voice cried.

"Who will it be?" A curious voice asked. Who side are these guys on? First it was only them then next it was it was a chance it could be them. They were becoming more annoying to deal with than Bridgette.

"The training will push you all to your limits and maybe past it." The calm voice said. "Let it begin." Suddenly the entire environment changed into the worst possible setting. The land changed into a magma field with the mushroom jungle turned into tall sharp rocks. The sky was black with a red tint from the constant fire. They were supposed to train in this?! They would be lucky to survive!


	50. Chapter 50

"You got be kiddin'! We're supposed to train in a magma field!" Kayson grabbed his head in a panic.

"Here you will find your true potential." The calm voice explained.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Rease shouted.

"You shall find out." The voice said fading. _Well that didn't help at all!_

"Finally extreme training!" Wes shouted sounding totally excited. Basil could only stare at him like a maniac.

"Hey maybe we'll be easier to find your box." Cooper said optimistically.

"Cooper." He said doubtfully.

"Boss, if we just get through it we'll be able to stop this entire mess." Rease said. Kayson nodded thinking about it,

"What do you think Basil?" Basil rubbed the back of his head. The voices did say this was training so once it was done there would be no reason for them to stay. But a magma field?! He hated to think about the kind of training they would receive through this.

"Well nothing's going to change if we just stand here so I think we should continue walking." He answered. Silently taking a breath he took the first step but the ground broke and a short magma burst up. Basil looked back to see Kayson and Miles looked scared of what just happened.

"I'm sure that was just a bad step." He tried to convince but had no luck.

"I sure hope Matt is having better luck than we are." Copper said hitching the covered sword back up his shoulder.

"Something tells me he is." Basil replied.

"Wait. Let me try something." Silva bent down and grabbed a stone and threw it. It landed with a thud and bounced a couple of times before rolling to a stop. "Ok we know that spot is safe."

"That's going to take forever to get anywhere." Rease complained.

"Well it's better than testing it with our feet." Cooper countered.

"Hey Silva, you're element is Ground right? And have you found your partner?" Basil questioned and Silvia nodded. "Well bring it out. It may be able to help us get through this quicker than throwing rocks."

"Alright." Silvia agreed and brought out a box like everyone else's but she had a dark green color. Igniting her ring she slammed into the opening, pointing it towards the open field. There was a spiraling flash of dark green and big horn sheep appeared with green flames coming off its horns and hooves. A small house cat with red flames also showed up.

"Uhh the cat's not mine." Silva said confused by the appearance of two box weapons.

"Bit! What are you doing out of your box?!" Rease shouted at the cat. Bit raised its fur and hissed. Before anyone knew what happened Bit jumped up on Rease's face and started clawing.

"Ahh! Bit that hurts!" Rease shouted trying to pry to the cat off.

"Rease!" Kayson shouted concerned. Bit hopped down and started licking its front paw like nothing happened.

"Rease are you alright?" Kayson asked. Rease's face was covered in red lines but otherwise looked fine.

"No worry Boss, I'm fine." Rease smiled but you still could see the pain.

"That's why I'm a dog person." Silvia muttered.

"What was that?!" Rease challenged rising a clinched fist. _Oh no, not again._

"Wait a sec. Cats are quick are on their feet I bet we could use that to help navigate this place." Basil spoke up breaking things up before they get too hot.

"Let's just get moving." Kayson tired of the fighting. Rease nodded in agreement. It was slow going at first but they managed to pick up the pace a bit when the box animals got a better gripping the ground. Aries, the name Silvia gave the ram walked ahead shifting his path when he didn't like something. Bit was tracking another path but had to jump to the side a lot more often when the ground broke. Aries stopped and started pawing the ground bobbing his head like he was irritated by something.

"Aries what's wrong?" Silvia asked but the ram reeled back on its back hooves and smashed the ground with its front. Now Basil was having a bad feeling crawling up his spine. There was sound of rushing water and rock breaking rock. They checked the side to see a giant tidal wave of magma and chucks of rocks came surging at them.

"Magma wave!" Kayson shouted. Everyone turned and started running the other way.

"Aries come back!" Silvia shouted pointing the box towards the running ram behind her.

"You too Bit!" Rease copied her motion. Aries shifted into the dark green flames and rushed towards its open box, Bit's red flames were not far behind. Both boxes closed allowing Rease and Silvia to concentrate on running themselves.

"If we survive this we'll be well trained for anything!" Kayson shouted.

"This is EXTREME!" Wes shouted actually sounding happy.

"That's an understatement!" Basil shouted back.

"I don't want to die!" Miles shouted.

"Funny time to start referring to yourself in the first person." Cooper started laughing.

"Too late! Here it comes!" Kayson stopped and looked back at the huge wave just about to crush them. Basil ducked his head and covered it with his arms as the ground under his feet broke and drew him in the wave.

Brook just got her lunch break when her phone started going off.

"Hello?" She answered it tiredly.

"Doctor Brook Burnish?" A male voice came back.

"Yes?" She answered curiously not recognizing the number or the voice it belonged to.

"This is Mr. Suller, the principle of Scepres Middle School. I regret to inform you that Matt and Basil never showed up and there wasn't a call excusing them. Do you know what happened to them?" He asked. Brook took a seat in the nearest chair feeling lightheaded.

"I don't understand. They both left for school this morning. I don't get why they're not there." She said feeling anxious and scared.

"Should we call the police?" Mr. Suller asked.

"No. I have some friends in the Time Agency I'm sure they would be more than willing to help." Brook said.

"Alright. I'll call you if I learn anything new." He reassured.

"Thank you." Brook said then hung up but quickly started dialing someone else.

"Hadley? It's me Brook. I need your help, Basil and Matt are missing." She spoke as soon as there was a connection.

"Really? That's wired because…um…well…we lost Jesse." He spoke sheepishly.

"What?! You lost Jesse!" She shouted.


	51. Chapter 51

Basil felt someone shaking his shoulder. There was a voice it sounded far away and muffled like he was sinking the bottom of the ocean with someone shouting to him from the surface. He slowly opened his eyes to see Cooper leaning over him. Basil put a hand to his head feeling his brain throb. Cooper offered him a hand up and he gladly took it. Basil looking around hoping to see the others. But there wasn't much to see, just rock and magma. Wes was running up to them.

"Did you find anyone?" Cooper asked. Wes shook his head.

"What happened? The last thing I remember is we were about to crushed by the magma wave." Basil asked.

"That's just it. We all blacked out." Wes explained. "We must've gotten separated when we all blacked out." Wes crossed his arms. Basil nodded getting it.

"And right when we found everyone we get separated again!" Wes raised his voice sounding mad.

"All we can do is go look for them." Basil said.

"Alright let's go." Cooper said heading in a random direction. It's not like he had a better idea in mind. They walked for what felt like hours not talking, keeping their ears open to hear one of their lost friends. Basil wasn't just searching but he was in deep thought as well. _How is it that we're all alive after that? No one can survive drowned in magma. And no one was a scratch or burn. Nothing at all. What is the point in us finding each other just to be split up again? It's me, Cooper and Wes. Why do I feel like that is supposed to mean something?_ He looked at Matt's back at the covered sword then at Wes. For some reason he couldn't stop thinking about how he and Wes met. He had a dream just like he did but he was in a boxing match against a mysterious figure on fire.

"Hey Wes when we first met you said you had a dream about a boxing match. You actually box?" Basil asked. Wes looked back at him confused and nodded.

"Boxing is the most extreme sport! I love it!" He said getting pumped up.

"Why do you ask?" Cooper questioned.

"It just that, the more I think about it strange. Each of us was a weapon. You Cooper it's your katana and Wes is his fist, while I use my Metal Edge but none of the other have a weapon. I don't know. It just feels like an important observation." Basil rubbed the back of his head.

"Hadley tell me you're lying!" Brook demanded.

"Brook I swear I would never joke nor less lie about this!" Hadley put his hands up defense.

"You're the Time Agency! How do you lose someone?" Brook said loudly.

"With time still being repaired anything is possible. Brook, I promise we're using all our resources to find him. And now Matt and Basil too. Trust me we want to find them just as much as you do." He tried to calm her down. Brook sighed and shook her head, her anger leaving.

"Nothing personal against you Hadley but I have a feeling they want to find them for a different reason." She looked at him then at the floor. Hadley grabbed her shoulders making her look at him.

"Brook I promise when we have any connection with Jesse or the kids. But for now go back to work to keep your mind busy." He prompted.

"How can I focus on work when I know there's a chance I may lose my boys forever?!" She began tearing up. Hadley gave her a sad look and pulled her in for a hug.

"We'll find them Brook and they'll be fine." He said soothingly as Brook spilt the first tears.

For what they were supposed to do now was a mystery. Matt thumbed his keychain as the others bickered on what to do next. The sun was being to go down and they would have to start making shelter and finding food soon.

"Johan we can't do that because the Elucidator is broken. We wouldn't be here if it worked." Katherine said annoyed.

"I say we make camp for the night and then deiced. We don't want night to catch us unprepared because we stood here bickering." Chip said slipping into his medieval voice.

"I agree with Chip. Who knows how long we'll be here, so we should at least prep for the night." Jesse said ending the debate. "Matt, Katherine you guys will get the firewood. Chip you find the food. Johan and I will start on the shelter."

"Come on Matt, I know where we can get a pile of firewood." Katherine said taking charge. After everyone ate from the fish Chip caught. Everyone but Jesse and Matt went to sleep under the shelter. Matt tossed a stick into the fire watching sparks fly off the burned pile.

"How you holding up?" Jesse asked moving over next to him on the log they moved over.

"Fine I suppose. Just worried about…everything." Matt shrugged. Jesse wrapped his arm around his shoulder pulling him in.

"I know exactly what you mean!" He whispered before kissing the top of his head.

"I'm ready for _all_ of us to go home! I miss mom…how do you handle it?" Matt asked getting choked up thinking about home. Jesse rubbed his shoulder for a minute before replying,

"I keep reminding myself that the sooner I fix time the sooner I get to go home." Matt leaned his head into his side just feeling him.

"The night sky is so clear tonight." Jesse whispered looking up. Matt looked up to. Seeing all the glowing stars and constellations got him thinking about the promise he made with Basil.

"It reminds me of the night when we went out to test out Basil's new telescope." Jesse said.

"Yea. That was a lot of fun! It was the night after Basil and I made a promise to explore it together." Matt cracked a smile. Then his smile faded.

"Dad, you've seen, you've _experienced_ incredible things. Time splitting, time freezing in a time hallow, you actually being our dad! But you still don't believe Basil's alive. Why?" He glanced up at his father's face. It was solemn.

"Matt…I want to believe more than anything that Basil's alive. It's just after seeing him die in my hands…I feel like it would being riding on high hopes just to be broken all over again." Jesse whispered not looking at him but still at the sky.

"What will it take for you to believe?" Matt asked. Jesse finally looked down at him,

"I guess seeing him again and holding him."


	52. Chapter 52

Basil took a seat on the hard ground completely drained. They been walking around till they were about to crash and they still couldn't find one person.

"I don't understand how we haven't found anyone yet. The land is flat so there's no objects obscuring our view." He said looking out the burning area.

"They must've gotten swept farther away than we thought." Wes spoke up.

"Or they're walking in a different direction than us." Cooper suggested.

"I'll see if Lunas will do another fly over." Basil said lighting his ring. He opened the box and Lunas came rushing out. _Really Basil? You got separated again? You really should just chain yourselves together. But I will go looking. Again._

"It's not our fault. It's this _training!_ " He argued. Lunas stayed silent then flew off. _Geez, are all partners like this?_ Then he thought of something. As far as he knew everyone but Kayson had found their partners, but what about Cooper?

"Hey Cooper did you find your partner?" He turned to face him.

"Yea I did. Why didn't I think of that sooner?" Cooper said lighting his ring. He brought out a blue box identical to the others except for color. After slamming his ring in a blue fire rushed out. A blue small bird emerged from the fire. It was a swallow still surrounded in the flames.

"Hey Swift can you go look for the others? Thanks!" He called up to the bird. The bird flew away in the opposite direction Lunas went.

"We better get looking to." Wes said standing up. Cooper got up and offered him a hand up. Basil took it then again they were hiking aimlessly around. It didn't take long for Swift to find them again guiding someone towards them. It was Rease and he had Bit on his shoulder.

"Yo Rease! Where have you been?" Cooper called out.

"Not sure but it was quite a fight." He answered walking up to them. He was battered, covered in ash, dirt, and his hair was messed up. His eye swollen but thankfully not turning black. Swift perched on Cooper's shoulder waiting for his next orders.

"What do you mean?" Basil asked confused. Rease rubbed his head.

"That's the wired part. It was a magma monster. I still don't really believe it but I found these." He brought out a set of throwing knives.

"Can I take a look at that?" Basil asked picking a knife. He didn't wait for answer, he ran the thumb down the edge. These were knives used in his martial arts. But just like his Metal Edge the blade was out and not retracted like it should be.

"These knives are the kind used in my martial arts. But the blade is out. It shouldn't be doing that." Basil gave the knife back.

"Not only that but they retains flames." Rease said. Just like his Metal Edge.

"Let's keep going hoping we don't run into the magma monster." Basil suggested.

"Alright Swift go find someone else." Cooper told the bird. It instantly took to the air again and disappeared.

Matt woke up due to the sun in his eyes. He found himself lying next to Dad with his arm around him. They were laying at the fire pit, their backs to the log. Dad was still asleep. His breath slow and rhythmic. Matt looked over to see the others still asleep under the cover. Dad's head lolled to the other side, his head now facing him. He felt bad for doing this but he shook him, trying to wake him up.

"Bridgette let Daddy sleep." Dad moaned then lolled his back to the other side. Matt couldn't decide wither to let it go or be hurt by that. _I don't shake like a nine year old girl!_ He thought defensively.

"Dad wake up. Its morning." Matt shook harder. His neck straighten out as his eyes opened. He blinked a few times but was coming through.

"Umm. Matt? What's happening?" Dad yawned and stretched his arms.

"It's morning." He repeated.

"Are the others up yet?" Dad asked closing his eyes again but then opened them slowly. Matt looked over and they were still sound asleep.

"Not _yet_." He answered getting up. He went over to where their heads were and let out a sharp loud whistle. They all jumped at the sound. Johan put a hand over his heart as Katherine stood up and glared at him. Chip laid his head back down looking startled.

"What was that for?" Katherine demanded. Matt smiled and replied,

"You don't want to sleep in do we? Just consider me your personal alarm clock." Her hands moved up in down like she was contemplating wither to slap him or not.

"You're welcome!" He said in snide way.


	53. Chapter 53

Swift and Lunas have been gone for a while now and still no one had cross their path. Bit went back into his box some time ago but Rease still looked battered like he was going to collapse if he had to fight again. All of this was still so mysterious it seemed almost pointless. What could they possibly have to gain by finding each other then separating again? _Right now I would rather just go home and think this through more before I commit to anything._ He looked at the ring on his finger. _This ring is just as mysterious as the dark side of the moon. And the flames. What are they made of and what's their purpose? Why give us the rings if we have to prove ourselves? Why drag us into this?_ Basil lit the ring testing it. The purple flame swayed back and forth, flickering as he moved. _What's really going on?_

"Hey! Silvia! Miles! Over here!" Cooper shouted waving his hand in the air. He looked to see where Matt was waving. Coming towards them was Silvia carrying Miles in her arms. Lunas leading the way. With a powerful flap he zipped right over to him and landed on his shoulder.

"Thank Lunas. Where did you find them?" He questioned the owl. _Just wondering around looking hopelessly lost. Like you do now._ Lunas answered. Basil stayed silent in reply.

"Are you guys alright?" He thought it would be best to ignore Lunas' comment.

"Yea but I see you guys are just as lost as we were." Silvia answered. _Told you._ Lunas commented. Basil dropped his shoulders a little bit in defeat.

"Forget that! Where's the boss?!" Rease asked raising his voice.

"You mean Kayson? I don't know?" Silvia shrugged. Kayson was still out there?

"The sooner we find him the better. With the creature Rease came across still out there he could be in serious trouble." As soon as Basil finished the ground began to quake. _Me and my big mouth!_

"Not this again!" Rease got his knives ready. Out in the distance a mound of harden rock with vain like streams of lava was walking towards them.

"Ahhck! Scary monster!" Miles screamed in fear.

"That's the magma monster?! This looks fun!" Cooper said pulling out his katana. _Only you Cooper._ Basil looked closer and noticed that it was chasing something.

"Hey Lunas is that thing running after something?" He kept his voice low. _You just now noticed? It's Kayson._

"What? Kayson?!" Basil shouted stunned.

"That thing is chasing the Boss!" Rease turned to him but before Basil could answer he began running towards the monster.

"Someone help!" Kayson shout reached them.

"Boss look out!" Rease threw the several knives at the monster. Now he knew what Rease meant by they retain flames. The bladed part of the knives were burning in Storm flames. The monster raised his arm as the knives stuck into the monster's hard rock. It yelled out not in pain but annoyance.

"Cooper, Wes let's help out!" Basil turned to them. They nodded in agreement. Wes rushed at the monster like a boxer with his arms tucked in and his fists ready to smash. Cooper brought out his sword from his covering and fallowed Wes.

"Silvia keep Miles safe." Basil called out.

"Basil wait! When I woke up from the magma tidal wave I found this embed in the ground. She pulled out something that looked a trident without its staff. Basil took it from her and noticed something strange with the bottom. There was a useless handle that was way too short to use. He shook it up and down hoping more was stuck inside. When he brought it down for the third time the handle shifted down to make it like a triple pointed spear. They both looked at it in shock.

"Well ok then!" He handed it back to her.

"Ack!" Basil heard Rease shout. He turned around in time to see him sail through the air before smashing on the ground.

"Rease!" He shouted. _Basil they need our help!_ Lunas leaned close to his face. He ran towards the fight taking his Metal Edge off his belt, Lunas hopped off now that his perch was moving too much for him to sit still. Cooper dodged the monster's hand trying to flatten him then jumped on his arm and took a swing at his face. The monster jerked its head to the side and jerked its arm forcing Cooper to jump off. Then it swatted at Wes with its other hand but Wes punched it and went into a stand still. Basil threw the Metal Edge at the wrist but it bounced off and returned to him without even scratching the thing. The monster turned its head to him and roared loudly. It backed out the fight with Wes and Cooper and swung its large arm at Kayson who could only stand there watching paralyzed.

"Boss!" Rease shouted starting to pick himself up.

"Kayson!" Cooper and Wes shouted seeing what the target was. Basil didn't stop running and jumped when he was close enough at Kayson to knock him down. The arm swung harmless overhead. They looked up to See Lunas attacking the monster's face with his talons his wings blinding him. Apparently sometime in the struggle Swift came back and was helping Lunas. The monster swatted at them but they moved out of the way.

"Kayson you alright?" He asked. Kayson nodded,

"When we got separated I tried looking for you guys but I found a strange mound that looked like a temple. I figured I would see better from up there but I found these." He pulled out a pair of yarn mittens. Mittens! Who the heck would need mittens out here?! "Before I got the chance to put them on that thing came out of nowhere and started attacking so I ran." Something about that sequence was tickling his brain like a tricky problem on a test. The two returned for a second time but the other hand hit them and they fell like a stone to the ground. But before they clash with the ground they turned back into their flames and went back into their boxes defeated. This wasn't good.


	54. Chapter 54

"Boss! Are you alright?" Rease ran up to them seeing they were sitting on the ground. Kayson nodded as they got up. Cooper and Wes were still taking on the monster. Basil watched as Cooper's blade lit up in blue flames and Wes's fist started to retain his flames. _It seems like our weapons retain our flames to make them stronger._ Then it hit him like a brick. _Of course! Why didn't I figure this out sooner? We got separate because unlike Cooper, Wes and myself, we have weapons but the others didn't. So they were sent to go find them, so Kayson's weapon is the gloves!_

"Kayson put the gloves on and try lighting your ring! The gloves are your weapon!" He shouted above the action. Kayson gave him a confused and stunned look but obeyed. The monster spun around with startling speed with his arms spread out knocking away both of them. They laid on the ground not getting up. Their eyes were closed like they were about to black out. The monster let out an ear splitting roar. The seconds seemed to tick by slowly as he watch Kayson hurry to put on glove on then the other. But nothing happened when both gloves were on.

"Kayson activate your ring! Remember it responds to your resolve. Rease, let's buy him sometime!" Basil shouted. Rease nodded and they ran towards the magma monster leaving Kayson alone. The monster brought a huge hand down with impressing speed but Basil was a step ahead. He jumped to the side and rolled then threw the Metal Edge at his face. Again it bounced off the stone doing nothing but only making it angrier. It roared again as Rease threw more knives at his head. The monster swatted at Rease but he managed to roll away. When the arm was close to the ground Basil hopped on its arm and ran towards its face. He threw the Metal Edge and again only to repeat the pattern. As Basil jumped off the other fist hit him. This was worse than the time the car ran him over. At least then he blacked out instantly, but this time the hit was just soft enough for him to hurt a whole lot but not black out.

"Basil! Rease!" Somehow he heard over the rushing air in his ears. Rease must've gotten hit as well if he was shouting both of their names. His body crashed on the hard surface and skid several feet. Everything hurt so bad he couldn't even move. But he forced himself to open his eyes. Kayson was still standing in the same spot he left him. His head was down and could see the mittens drawn into fists.

"You hurt my friends. And all they were trying to do was help me." Kayson said with his head still down. The mittens began to glow and a small sky flame appeared on Kayson's forehead. It instantly turned into a roaring flame and the woolen mittens turned into gloves with fingers. The fingers and rim of the gloves were a shiny, slick silver color while the rest of it was jet black. The Sky ring was somehow now on the outside of the glove. On the back of both gloves was the image that must've been in the Sky ring in a bright gold color. The image took up the entire back of his hands.

"I won't let you get away with it!" He said looking up in the calmest, most collective voice Basil ever heard. Kayson sounded like a military commander staying cool in the heat of fire. Or a business leader that the other companies were afraid of. He sounded, well like a boss. _Go for it Kayson!_ Basil thought in his aching head. The monster threw a fist at him roaring angrily. But Kayson caught it like it was nothing. Basil could see the monster struggling to keep pushing but Kayson was standing their holding the punch back like it was nothing. _In-incredible! So this is the power of the Sky Elemental. No wonder he's the boss!_ Kayson pushed the arm back with amazing strength sending the magma monster stumbling.

"I'll beat you even if it cost me my life." Kayson told the monster rushing at it. The monster tried to crush him but Kayson jumped up and landed a punch in the monster's face. It roared again and fell back. Kayson landed on his feet waiting for it to get back up. The monster just laid there like the one hit did him in.

"Get up. I know you have more." He told the fallen creature. The magma that was coursing through its body flooded out covering all the stone. Kayson stood there with the calm expression still on his face. The magma began to reach upwards taking a totally different form. It twisted and bended. When it seemed to have found a form it was satisfied with the magma cooled down back into the rock with stream like veins. Now instead of a mountain like human it now took on the form of an enormous snake with frills around its neck. The snake lashed out with its tail striking Kayson in the stomach sending him flying. _Kayson!_ Kayson got up like it was no big deal but the dirt on his face and some torn clothes told he took some damage.

"Finally. I was being to think that was all you got." He put both of his hands into the fire on his forehead and when he pulled them back out the gloves both had dangerous looking flames of their own. _So you get it too. That the weapons are able to retain the users flames for battle._ The snake lunged at him ready to swallow him whole but at the last moment possible Kayson disappeared. He didn't kick up dust or anything, he just disappeared into thin air. The snake's head crashed into the ground hard, braking it up enough for a pool of magma to spring up. Out of nowhere Kayson appeared behind the snake in floating in mid-air. _Oh I get it. He used the flames as propulsion allowing him that quick speed and to stay airborne._ Kayson dived down at the snake as it moved its head back up. It hissed showing its rock fangs. The snake challenged the charged by jumping up at him. They met in the middle creating an explosion of rock and fire. The snake was thrown back down as Kayson was tossed up high in the air clearly have taken another big hit. The flames on his gloves died out. Before he hit the ground Kayson managed to reignite them somehow to gently lower himself to the ground. _All of this without a box weapon. Just pure resolve._ Kayson and the snake stared each other down for a moment sizing each other up. The snake rocketed with a single push, Kayson used the propulsion to fly directly at the snake. Before he got too close to the snake he switch right hand to a fist, ready to nail the rock snake. Another collision but this time it was clear that Kayson had the upper hand. His fist connected with the tip of the snake's noise as the other hand continued to add extra power by pushing forward. A crack appeared. It rippled across the head then the rest of the body before the snake completely shattered. _Wow._ Kayson landed on both feet staring at the broken rocks. The flame on his forehead fizzled out with a hiss and the gloves went back to being mittens. He looked at the rocks again looking almost amazed himself. Then he seemed to have noticed him.

"Basil! How badly hurt are you?" Kayson ran over to him.

"I'll be fine. It's the others I'm worried about." He pushed himself up a bit but in the end he needed Kayson to help him back up on his feet.

"Kayson! That was amazing!" Silvia came running over with Miles still in her arms.

"Miles could've done that!" Miles said in a showing-off kind of way. _Sure you could've._ He thought sarcastically.

"I didn't do much. Besides everyone's hurt." Kayson waved away the praise.

"Don't worry about us Boss. We'll be fine." Rease voice reached them from behind. Basil and Kayson turned around to see the other limping over towards them with arms around each other's neck for support. They sure didn't look fine, they looked beat up and a bit bloody. The torn clothes didn't help either. Basil would bet he looked just like them.

"Rease, Cooper, Wes!" Kayson said looking at each of them. Then he tilt his head down,

"I'm sorry. You guys got hurt trying to help me. Each of you went into the line of fire knowing you could get hurt to help me and I came in too late. I'm sorry!" It was obvious he was extremely sincere.

"Don't worry about it." Cooper said smiling. Kayson looked up surprised by what he was hearing.

"You're our friend. Of course we would help you." Basil added.

"Please don't beat yourself up Boss." Rease jumped in. Wes nodded in agreement. Kayson looked at them smiling with tears beginning to form in his eyes.

"Thank you everyone!" Kayson cried wiping the tears away before they could come out.

"Let's do our best to get out of here and back home!" Silvia said. Kayson nodded. Basil looked up at the smoky sky. Everyone but him came straight from their time, so what would happen to him after they figure out how to get out of here?


	55. Chapter 55

Matt waited patiently as the others stretched their limbs helping them wake up. _Basil and the others are doing their part. So I have to do mine and keep the others safe._ He looked at the ring on his finger. It glimmered in the sunlight.

"So who has a plan on to get us back home or at least back to the time hallow?" Katherine asked looking around.

"Every time we land so place new we're always near the problem. So I say we go look around to see if we can't spot anything out of place." Matt suggested walking over to them. He ended up standing between Dad and Katherine.

"Speaking of things out of place has anyone noticed that we haven't spotted any tracers?" Johan said with realization in his voice. He kicked the sand, "Look no tracers."

"Time must be severely messed up." Dad sighed.

"Or something is keeping us from seeing them." He spoke. Everyone looked grim. Matt felt bad for bringing that up but they needed to know all the options. When he shifted his weight to the other foot he lost his balance and fell in Dad's direction. Dad caught him by the shoulder and as he helped back to a position he could balance in, he swiped the Elucidator from his pocket. Matt quickly hid it at the back of his belt so he wouldn't have a noticeable bulge in his pocket and his shirt could cover it.

"It looks like you're still a bit weak from the fight yesterday." Dad said. _It wasn't just that fight it was everything else too!_

"I guess that makes sense though. The flames use your own energy to burn and I used a lot in that brawl." Matt agreed rubbing the back of his head. "Anyway I'm going to have a quick look around to see if I can't spot anything obvious out of the ordinary." He backed up and headed for the woods.

"Don't go too far!" Dad called after him. Matt waved a hand in the air acknowledging what he just said. Once he was out of sight and ear shot from the others he pulled the Elucidator back out. He could hear a flame spark to life on his ring. It was a small flame, about half an inch big. Matt tried to put it out but he couldn't. _Aug! Forget it!_

"Alright. Let's see what you know." He whispered to himself. "Show recent actions." He told it. The screen began showing a long list of commands. It self-scrolled down what seemed like an endless list. It showed him everything from showing displays to answering a thousand questions.

"Show me only relevant information." Matt corrected. **WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?** _I mean what you think it means!_ He scowled in his head.

"I mean show me only information that will help us get back to the time hallow." He sighed. It showed him the original list again.

"What are you doing? I told you I don't want this list. I want one that will show connects to what's happening." Matt told it harshly. **THAT COULD BE ANYTHING AT THIS POINT.** Matt threw his arm down in frustration. Now he knew how Dad felt.

"Matt! Matt! Where are you?" He heard Katherine calling out to him.

"Over here!" He called back sliding the Elucidator back in his belt. Katherine came jogging into view. "What's happening?"

"Gary and Hodge are attacking!" She told him with her eyes wide. Matt could feel his eyes go just as big. He took off to a dead run heading for the camp with Katherine on his tail. Trees past by in a blur and before he knew it most of his traction was lost to the sand. He could see it. Dad was confronting Gary and Hodge. Johan and Chip tried to help but were knocked down like poorly built twig structures. Gary slipped behind Dad and grabbed his arm twisting it behind his back the kicked him flat on his face his arm still bent. Hodge bent down to eye level with Dad and his mouth moving but he could pick up what he was saying. Matt pulled out both guns and pulled the triggers. He rocketed towards them so fast his feet were no longer on the ground. When he was close enough he swung his legs up to the front with one foot ready to smash into Gary. Gary and Hodge looked up in time to see him slam into Gary. He hit him so hard that Gary instantly let Dad go and went flying a couple feet before he released the triggers. Matt landed on his feet as Gary crash landed on the sandy beach. Suddenly he felt tired and drained. Like he just played an entire inning in the outfield by himself. He looked to see that the flame on his ring was still burning. Again he tried to put it but still couldn't. _What's going on? Why can't I put it out?_

"Are you alright?" Hodge called out. Gary sat up rubbing the spot on his chest where his foot smashed into him.

"Ow! I thought the problem kid was taken care of! Why didn't anyone warn me about him?!" Gary said frustrated and in pain.

"Look the kid is tried. It must've taken most of what he had. So just deck him and get over and help." Hodge said fending off Johan and Chip as Katherine helped Dad.

"No problem!" Gary said getting up and rolling up a sleeve. Matt lined up another shot but Gary was faster than he anticipated or he slowed down. Either way his shot was sent into the forest when Gary pushed his arm to the side. Sun flames rushed up the trees and took over bushed. This was the strangest forest fire ever seen. Everything else still looked the same but Sun flames covered almost everything. Almost like the flames were an illusion. There was splintering and cracking just like a normal forest fire.

"What the?" Everyone was watching the Sun flame forest fire.

"Forget this! Let's get out of here!" Gary said jogging back to Hodge. Hodge was nodding when they disappeared.

"What do we do?!" Katherine shrieked. Matt looked down at his ringed hand to see that flame was still burning. _It's a long shot but I don't have another choice._ He pulled out Pegasus' box and slammed the ring into the opening. Pegasus came out in a rush of sparkling yellow. It was floating in the air watching the fire. Now he was on the brink of collapsing from exhaustion.

"Pegasus put out this fire!" Matt shouted up. Pegasus reeled back onto its hind legs and wings began glow brightly as the forest fire flames rushed up and joined with the wings. Quickly there was nothing left of the fire except for the smoke and charred spots. Seeing its work was done Pegasus rushed back into the box and Matt feel straight down not able to stay awake another moment longer.


	56. Chapter 56

His head hurt and spinning. Matt tried opening his eyes but the light forced them back shut.

"Uhn." He moaned. Now he could feel that every muscle in his body was sore like they were all over used at once.

"Matt. Matt how are you feeling?" He heard Dad's voice. Cracking an eye open he tested the lighting. When he became confident that the light wouldn't hurt him he fully opened up his eyes to see Dad's head over him and his hand on his cheek.

"Like a well beat-up baseball." He muttered cracking a smile. Now he could tell his head was on Dad's lap as his senses started coming back slowly. _Are we done yet? Can we go home yet?_ Matt closed his eyes and let out a sore groan. As the hand on his cheek stroked up towards his head ruffled his hair massaging his skull, he opened his eyes again. Something was wrong, Dad was only using one hand. His none stroking arm didn't move at all.

"Dad are you ok?" He asked worried that Gary dislocate his arm or worse, broke it. Dad gave him a sympathetic smile seeing where he was getting it.

"I'll be fine. That jerk just twisted my arm a bit funny. But I'm more worried about you, you've been pushing yourself too hard." The hand kept massaging his head. Matt started feeling pathetic. Basil was facing who-knows-what and Dad was hurt and here he is laying on his dad's lap with him stroking his head! But maybe he was right. Ever since they disappeared from their time they hadn't had break. Even with all the conditioning he had in baseball couldn't prepare him for all of this. Matt pushed himself off and up into a sitting position.

"Matt what happened?" Johan asked. Matt took a breath thinking about how he was going to answer it.

"I'm not entirely sure. I guess I used up all my energy to power the flame." He finally answered.

"But you fought the Boss yesterday and you were fine at the end. And when I found you your ring was already burning." Katherine reminded him. Yesh! How much did she catch? Matt shrugged,

"Maybe I was still tired from yesterday and as for the ring I have no idea why it did that. I couldn't put it out myself."

"Whatever but can we try to go back to the time hallow or get some more food." Johan suggested. Matt couldn't let that happen. He wasn't done with the Elucidator yet. And if Dad found it he took it he would be in huge trouble and the chances of him snatching it again were slim! Dad is the one to learn from his mistakes.

"Let's get some food first before we try to leave. If we travel again we might not be able to eat." Matt quickly replied. Dad eyed him like he knew he was hiding something from him. In return he gave him an innocent look. Dad gave up his gaze and looked a Johan.

"Matt's right. We should try to eat before we leave. Who knows where we'll be sent next." He took his side.

"I'll go check the forest for some berries." Matt tried to stand up but his legs wouldn't let him.

"No Matt. You were up late last night and were the first one to wake up. You're staying right to rest!" Dad put his good hand on his shoulder stopping his attempt to get up. This wasn't good. He needed to ask the Elucidator more questions but there was no way to use it in the open. Maybe after everyone leaves?

"Chip you'll try fishing, Katherine gather some more firewood, I'll check out the forest for anything eatable. Johan you stay here and keep an eye on Matt." Dad instructed. Well there went that idea. There was still no way he was going to use in front of Johan, even if he managed to get him to stay quite. Sooner or later Dad will notice the Elucidator is missing and he didn't want Johan to get in trouble because of him.

"Dad I'm fine really!" He protested.

"No Matt. You can't even stand up, so get the idea out of your head! I already lost your brother, I'm not about to risk losing you too." Dad stared at him right in the eyes. It was so hard to argue back with that sad look in his eyes.

"Dad, Basil would never blame you for what happened." He spoke quietly. Dad dropped his gaze to the ground for a second then looked back at him.

"That doesn't mean I don't blame myself." He whispered. Matt felt terrible for him. His hair looked like it hadn't been combed in a while, his clothes were dirty and some fuzzy facial hair was starting to grow. With him in this condition and the look in his eyes it was impossible _not_ to feel bad for him. His good hand went the side of his head as he pecked his forehead. Dad got up and left. Katherine and Chip walked to their sections to. Johan took a seat next to him and didn't say anything for a moment.

"So you really believe Basil's still alive?" He questioned.

"I don't think he ever _died_." Matt replied. Now he had to get rid of him.

"Hey Johan can you check the spot were smashed Gary to see if he dropped anything? I would do it myself but, you know, my dad." He asked. Johan looked over at the sand where he was talking about.

"Sure." He agreed and left. Matt shifted his body so his back could rest against the log. He looked all around to make sure no one was watching him and pulled out the Elucidator.

"Show me the place where Basil lost conscious the moment right after we left." Matt told it. An image of an empty cave showed up. It was the exact same cave with no trace of Basil.

"Are you sure this is the right time?" He questioned. **YES** appeared at the bottom of the image. Matt cracked a smile seeing the news. If Dad didn't believe him he would have to believe this!


	57. Chapter 57

Now figuring out the right time to tell him. He couldn't do it now, too risky. If he shouted out now everyone would come running and he wanted to only to tell Dad first then the others if he could convince him. Johan was coming back so he slid the Elucidator back into hiding. His mouth parted getting ready to talk but before any words came out everything went dark.

"Matt? Katherine? JB? Chip?" Johan asked nervously.

"We're here." He heard Dad in the blackness. Now he was back in the time hallow. Everyone was partially spread out in the room.

"What happened?" Chip asked as the regrouped. Matt got back on his feet to join them.

"What was everyone doing the _exact_ moment we left?" He questioned. "I know Johan was walking back to me.""I was fishing." Chip shrugged.

"I thought I saw a hut but it turned out to be a tree and bush." Katherine chimed in. They all turned their attention to the silent Dad.

"JB what about you?" She asked squinting at him. He looked down at the floor for a moment then back up at them.

"That was the instant I realized that the Elucidator was missing." He said in the low voice. While the others were in shock Matt recoiled slightly. _Is that why we're back here?_

"I don't want to spend the rest of forever in here!" Katherine wailed."Did you drop it?" Chip asked.

"Was it Gary and Hodge?" Johan fired another question. The questions kept firing as Katherine moaned who she hated being stuck in here.

"I don't know what happened!" Dad raised his voice above the others. Everyone went silent again. "All I know is I don't have it anymore." _Should I tell them I have it? It'll calm them down but I'm going to be in for it big time!_ Now all but him was asking the others questions and possible causes.

"You didn't lose the Elucidator!" Matt raised his voice now. All eyes were on him. Taking a deep breath he continued,

"I have it." He brought the Elucidator. "I took it when I fell into you. I needed it to help me gather evidence." Matt explained looking directly at his dad. He just stood there for a moment letting all absorb in. Dad walked up to him grabbing his shoulder roughly guiding him to the corner with the bags. Matt looked up to see he was beyond mad.

"What the heck possessed you to do something like that?!" He demanded.

"I told you; I needed evidence." Matt explained. He tried to explain further but he was cut off.

"Do you have any idea on how incredibly stupid and dangerous that is?! That Elucidator may be the only thing that can get us home! Not to mention that could get you thrown into time jail for the rest of your life! You are so lucky that we are in the middle of a crisis so the time agency didn't see what you just did! Heck you're lucky I'm not reporting you myself!" Dad went on a rampage but Matt stood there waiting for him to get it all out.

"Matt give the Elucidator!" He demanded sticking his hand out. Matt looked at the hand for a second weighing his options. Give it back and Dad will never know that Basil is alive and be grounded for the rest of his life, or hold on to it and make Dad watch it and never see daylight again. He tighten his grip around the Elucidator.

"No." Matt said flatly looking right in his eyes. Now he had the look of disbelief along with rage.

"What did you just say to me?" Dad eyed him sharply.

"No. Not until you listen to me." He said. Now he looked mad enough to kill him. Dad swiped at the hand holding it but he pulled it back out of his reach.

"Matt this isn't a game!" Dad rolled his hand into fists. Matt took a step back and ran to the other side of the room. He lit his ring and used one of his gun to take aim on the Elucidator in his hand.

"I know that! But you need to listen to me." Matt shouted at him.

"What are you doing? You know that Elucidators are indestructible." Dad shook his head.

"I sincerely doubt that the tests have included Sun flames." Matt called back. Of course he wasn't going to pull the trigger but he needed Dad to listen to him.

"JB just hear him out!" Katherine shouted at him. Dad looked at the trio then at him, his anger dissipating.

"Alright show me." He said calmly. Matt slid the gun back into place and walked up to the wall.

"Project the image of the cave I was just asking about. Add the time stamp." He told it. Instantly a picture of an empty cave appeared on the wall. On the bottom corner was the very exact time.

"See this is the exact second we left the cave after Basil was thought to be dead. He's not there because he's not dead." Matt said looking directly at his Dad's face. It was complete shock and disbelief but he could see the hope in it.

"How is it possible?" He muttered.

"Who cares?! Basil's alive." Matt told him. Dad dragged him in his side looking at the wall.


	58. Chapter 58

Basil sat among the injured circle, resting to try to regain his strength. Miles was running around screaming his laughter as he ran around the circle like it was a game of duck-duck-goose and he was it.

"Duck! Duck!" Miles laughed as he ran around tapping them on the head.

"Hey! Knock it off! This isn't a game!" Rease shouted at him but Miles didn't seem to hear him. Basil watched as he stuck out his arm as a leaning post as Miles ran by and got tripped up.

"Miles are you alright?" Silvia asked picking up. "Just because you're hurt doesn't mean you have the right to hurt Miles!" She yelled at him. But Rease just ignored her.

"Stupid is a cheating cheater!" Miles cried as he tried to hit Rease from Silvia's arms.

"Maybe it would be better if you'd play with Miles somewhere else till the others get their strength back." Kayson suggested.

"Speaking of Miles. Did he get his weapon? I know that he's a little kid but he's still one of us. He'll need his weapon." Basil looked over at the still crying Matt. The crying stopped as quick as it started. No last whimper or drying of the eyes, he looked as if he was never crying. In fact he jumped out of Silvia's arms putting his hands on his hips and started laughing like he owned everything.

"Miles has the coolest weapon out of everyone!" He said proudly.

"Doubt it!" Rease muttered. Basil couldn't help but smile at the comment. What kind of weapon does Miles have? A super powered water gun? But what Miles pulled out of his pocket took him by complete surprise. It wasn't some harmless looking toy as he thought but a hand grenade!

"A hand grenade!" Kayson shouted taken back by complete surprise. Who in their right mind would give a kid a bomb nor less Miles?! As Miles was taking a step he tried and the bomb dropped. It exploded a smoke colored cloud as stared in complete disbelief.

"Eck! Miles!" Silvia said in a high pitch voice. When the smoke cleared another person was standing there. He looked like Miles just older and more mature. Defiantly taller.

"Ah young Elementals. So it looks like my younger self has found the use of the 10-year grenade." The stranger spoke. _10-year grenade?_

"Does that mean your Miles ten years in the future?" Basil asked. The stranger nodded. "But how is that possible? I thought time travel could only be done with an Elucidator." Basil said.

"You have boxes that have powerful animals in them and rings that can sustain elemental fire. So why not? The 10-year grenade is a weapon that switches the user with themselves ten years in the future for five minutes. Once those five minutes are up the users are switched back to the correct times." Older Miles explained. He looked at a watch on his wrist and nodded at them. "And with that I wish you Aude." Again there was an explosion of smoke and younger Miles appeared.

"Drat. I hope the older one would stay permanently. I liked him better." Rease commented.

"This is strange." Basil said. "We came here to train and to find our weapons. And we did that, so why are we still here?" Everyone gave him the same confused look he had on. Then the world disappeared in an instant, back to the space with the floating lights.

"Your training here is now complete. You will now be returned to where you need to be." The calm voice said. Everyone but him were telling each other there excitement. _Where we need to be? Not home?_ He thought a bit depressed then he thought about his brother and Dad and his new friends lost in time not able to go home either. _I guess that means me._

"Then I guess I'll see you guys later." Basil told them breaking up the excitement.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Kayson asked.

"Yea what's that about? I thought we were all going home." Silvia questioned.

"No they said we would go back to where we're supposed to be. I was with Matt and our Dad and some friends figuring out a problem. And Miles wouldn't go to our school, so he would need to go where he was supposed to be when he was sent here." He explained.

"Then, then we'll go with you!" Kayson smiled.

"Yea we'll figure this out together to the extreme!" Wes said getting pumped. The others looked at him nodding with what Kayson and Wes said.

"That's right we're a family now! We have to look after each other!" Cooper smiled as he laughed.

"Miles will beat up anyone who stands in his way!" Miles said in his normal cocky voice. Basil was taken back at their willingness to help. They virtually just meet each other but they were acting like they've known each other forever.

"Thank you everyone but this is something I need to do. And it's not like I'm alone, Matt will be there with some other new friends." Basil smiled.

"Well then, connect up with us when you can!" Kayson said. The moment Basil was finished nodding everything disappeared.

Matt found himself back in the cave were Basil was separated from them. They all instantly agreed to go and check it out for themselves. The sun was still in the same mid-evening glow. Besides them the cave was totally empty.

"Matt's right, the Elucidator is saying that this is the exact moment after we left. Basil should be right here, just the way we left him." Dad said bending down at the spot where Basil once laid.

"So where is he?" Katherine asked looking around the cave as if he'd been hiding in plain sight. Matt so felt confident that if they came here Basil would show up. _Come on Basil where are you?_

"Lose something JB?" An all too familiar voice reached their ears. They all spun around to see Gary and Hodge standing in the opposite side of the cave.

"What are you doing here?" Johan demanded. The two just grinned. Matt couldn't fight them, he was still recovering from the last fight. _Basil where are you?!_ Gary pulled out a gun from his belt and pointed at Dad. _It must be a new one. Basil trashed the one back in 1490._

"Now JB you're going to help us out with something and no one gets hurt." Gary said casually like they were talking over coffee.

"Yea I know how that's going to turn out! Once you get what you want you're going to kill me." Dad snorted.

"You might want to rethink that." Gary moved his aim at Matt, Dad's expression flashed to worry, "You already lost one son JB, do really want to lose the other." He stood there hesitantly. Unsure of what to do.

"You have five seconds!" Hodge shouted as Gary pulled back the hammer. Five seconds! That was only long enough to give a yes or no answer so forget about shouting a command at the Elucidator.

"Five! Four!" _Oh great a count down too!_ "Three! Two!" Hodge shouted.

"Alright I'll help you!" Dad shouted above him.

"Smart choice." Hodge smirked and nodded at Gary. He pulled the trigger and there was a loud bang.

Alright it pains me to say this but the next chapter will be the last chapter in Moon Mind! And I just wanted to say THANK YOU for staying with me for all of this! You guys are the best! I'll post the last chapter as soon as I get a comment (or a week. Which ever comes first). Thanks again!


	59. Chapter 59

Basil reappeared in the back of the cave he last remembered seeing Johan, Chip, Katherine, Dad and Matt. Two people stood in front of him and more people in front of them. He recognized the backs as Gary and Hodge so he figured the others must be behind them. When he heard the countdown he knew exactly what was going to happen when he saw the gun was pointed at Matt. He ripped the Metal Edge off his belt and it left his fingertips right after he heard "Smart choice" and Dad yell "No!". Matt flinched expecting to have been hit but he was completely fine. His timing was perfect, the Metal Edge deflected the shot and was now returning.

"What the?" Gary said stunned looking at the gun in his hand.

"Weren't expecting me were you?" Basil said getting them to turn around astonished.

"Basil!" Katherine shouted.

"Took you long enough!" Matt smiled at him. For a moment he watched Dad stare at him, all different kinds of emotions on his face. But mostly it was happy. Then he cut the moment off by throwing the Metal Edge in the middle of Gary and Hodge forcing them to jump to the side. Basil walked right up the open path to the others and turned around to face the two.

"Don't worry I'll handle them." He called over his shoulder.

"You think you can stop us?! You're just one kid!" Hodge shouted at him hysterically. Basil lit up his ring and shifted the Metal Edge in his hand so he could hold Lunas' box.

"We got them on the edge. Let's go Lunas!" He called as he opened the box. Purple fire rushed out and Lunas popped out of the flames. Basil fallowed right behind Lunas who was charging right at Gary and Hodge. Moon flames burst out of the Metal Edge's blade. At the last moment they split up. Lunas took Hodge as Basil took Gary. He slashed through the gun like hot knife through butter. Gary glared at the gun then at him. He swung the broken gun down at his head but Basil sidestepped just enough to avoid being hit. If that hit that would've most likely broken his skull. Basil struck the gun completely slicing the thing in two. He slammed his elbow into Gary's side forcing him to buckle over. Then he swung his body around and smashed his other elbow in his cheek. Gary fell to the ground with Hodge close behind. They were both griping their injuries as they glared up at them. Lunas swiftly landed on his shoulder. _Move back!_ The moon shouted at him. He jumped back as far as could. And just in time too! A thick Sky flame would have crushed him. The boss emerged from the shadows from where he appeared. He looked down at the beaten Gary and Hodge with his ruthless glare.

"You two are pathetic!" He said with cold, steely voice. Then he looked up at him.

"So you're alive. I thought I killed you." The boss spoke, a small smile creeping up on his lips.

"This time it will turn out differently." Basil lifted up his shirt to show that all his organs were back. Hodge whipped something out of his pocket, an Elucidator. Then both Gary and Hodge disappeared. The smile on the boss' lips grew then burst out in a cruel laugh.

"Look at that trash run! So pathetic!" He laughed.

"Careful Basil! That guy is stronger than we originally thought!" Matt warned. Basil still stared at the boss as he nodded.

"Thanks Lunas, I'll handle it from here." He told the owl. Lunas zipped back in box as his acknowledgement. Basil reconnected the box back to his belt and raised his Metal Edge.

"Tell me why are you doing this?" He asked keeping his voice calm.

"I don't have to tell you trash anything!" The boss spat. Something about this seemed off. Like they weren't talking about the same things. It seemed like the boss was talking about the elemental power while he was talking about time. It was just a feeling but still, it felt strong! Basil dropped the arm holding the Metal Edge finally getting it.

"What are you doing? Dropping out? Afraid to lose?" The boss taunted.

"No. You're not the one causing the disturbance with time, so I have no fight with you. For now at least. Besides, it's not me that you really want to fight. It's the Sky Elemental isn't?" Basil explained. The boss started laughing again.

"And it took the Moon Elemental to figure that out! What do I have to gain by time being screwed up?" He agreed.

"A piece of advice." Basil spoke up seeing he was about to go, "Don't underestimate the Sky Elemental." The boss just smirked and disappeared. Everything turned black as the traveled through Outer Time. Before he knew it he was back in the time hallow. For a second he thought the boss came back and tackled him but he quickly recognized it was Dad crushing him in a hug. He put the Metal Edge back on his belt and returned the hug. He could feel Dad's body shake and his breath grew quick trying to keep the tears back.

"I thought I lost you forever!" Dad whispered.

"I missed you too!" Basil whispered back. He pulled back to see Dad had a light smile on his face and tears in his eyes. One dripped down and slid down his cheek.

"I hate to interrupt the moment but is it all over?" Katherine asked. Basil nodded,

"I can't really explain it but Gary, Hodge or even their old boss had nothing to do with time being messed up. It was more of a needed coincidence." Johan, Katherine and Chip squinted at him confused.

"A needed coincidence?" Johan questioned.

"Yea you know. How something that seemed so random turns out to be critical." He answered. Katherine's eyes went big with realization.

"Oh I get it! Johan this happens to us all the time!" She said sounding proud of herself. Johan still looked confused. Chip just shrugged it off.

"I'll explain it to them later." Katherine told him.

"So is that all we needed to do? Is time fixed?" Johan tried to change the subject. Basil gave him a grim look.

"No. The damage from the missing kids from history is still there. So congrats! More time traveling for you!" Basil tried to spin it positively.

"But do we get to go home now?" Chip asked Dad. Dad was checking out the Elucidator and looked up smiling. He nodded yes.

"So we are all in agreement that we won't tell Mom about the life and death situations or the crazy new stuff you can do?" Dad asked in the darkness of Outter Timer. Basil hitched his bag up his shoulder. They already sent Johan, Katherine and Chip home after Katherine gave him a – glad you're alive – hug; that didn't seem to settle all that well with Chip.

"Yea Dad! We don't want Mom freaking out more than you do. We keep the flames and the boxes on the down low." Matt said. A light started coming towards them rapidly. The closer it got the more excited Basil became. Ever since he started losing his organs all he thought about was going home and now he was. Now the light was right on top of them. They landed on a sidewalk next to a street. Basil did a double-take and realized it was the same spot they were before they went through time. But instead of being early morning it was late afternoon closing on evening. The moon was already starting to softly pick at his head.

"You alright Matt?" Dad asked putting a hand on Matt's back as laid on the concrete of the sidewalk.

"Yea. Just landed funny or something." He answered getting up.

"Alright boys, let's go home!" Dad wrapped an arm around each of his sons.

Home was just who they left it. Peaceful. Dad unlocked the front door and swung it open.

"Hey Brook! We're home!" Dad called out. Footsteps came from the kitchen and Mom appeared around the corner. For a second the only thing on her face was worry. Then it vanished like it never happened.

"Matt! Basil!" Their mom ran up to them, engulfing them in a huge hug. "I was so worry about you two!" Then kissed them on their heads. She let them go and took a step towards Dad and gave him his own personal strangling hug. Which Dad happily returned just as tightly. He gave her a quick kiss before they turned to them, still wrapped up in a side hug.

"You two must've been through so much! Bridgette's at soccer practice but do you need anything?" Mom asked. Basil and Matt looked each other and tried to hold a laugh in but had zero success. He traveled through time chasing dangerous criminals, lost his organs, went to what most likely could have been another dimension, found out he was the Moon Guardian with special abilities, and found out that there were others in his school just like him. Did he need anything?! He needed everything and nothing.

"How about a bath and some fried rice?" Basil asked calming down. She looked at Dad for an explanation to the sudden laughter but he just shrugged.


	60. Chapter 60

So I was thinking and thought this needs and epilogue! So here's a quick epilogue!

A few days later...

"Hey Mom I'm heading out for a walk!" Basil called out.

"Alright but make sure you wear a jacket." She called back from somewhere upstairs. Basil opened the door letting in the warm air and soft breeze. He stepped out and closed the door behind him heading for the park. When he reached the sidewalk he heard a voice behind him.

"Mind if I join you for your walk?" He looked back to see Dad strolling up to him.

"Sure." Basil said letting him catch up.

They walked down the dirt path that lead a straight shot to the field and playground. Dad took a deep breath and sighed rubbing his forehead.

"Something bothering you?" Basil asked.

"More like it has me confused. How did everything fit so perfectly from Mileva sending me here to her meeting me in the time hallow before she even knew who I was to me actually being your father? How so much disaster was the only way to keep time going?" He confessed.

"Does it really matter? It's like this dirt, it looks settled, permanent." Basil kicked up some dust and breeze picked it up and settled down the path. "Things happen, everything adjusts. But if that dirt was really meant to be there it wouldn't have moved. But it knew it had to move so it stayed loose and now you can't even tell the dirt moved down the path." He tried explaining.

"So you're saying that dirt knew it was meant to be kick to somewhere else?" Dad asked scrunching his eyes in confusion.

"No. I bet if you asked that dirt it would've said that wasn't supposed to have happened and now everything's messed up. But it was _meant_ to be moved, that's why it was loose." Basil said.

"I think I'm getting it. It's about perspective right? From where we are it doesn't look so bad. But if we were in the dust it would've looked like everything is messed up until it's settled down again." Dad nodded. "But what about those things that seemed random but turned out be vital?" Basil looked at the side to see trees scattered about. He stopped them at a tree next to path.

"Have you ever noticed in Biology at first glance the small stuff looks pointless and a waste of space and as we dig deeper we find out that without that small piece we couldn't do something. Like the pinky toe or finger." Basil grabbed a branch and started pulling himself up. He turned his body and took a seat on the branch. "Without it we wouldn't be able to balance like we do or grab. It looks like it has no point because everything else looks more important. Even then we couldn't move like we do without them." He looked down at Dad who had his hands in his pockets and shifting weight from foot to foot.

"But we could still live life it we lost them." Dad said. Basil gave his head a quick cock.

"Ants. They're small hardly noticeable in the wild but they sculpt the ecosystem they're in. Someone has to eat them and someone has to eat then thing that ate them and so on." Basil said then jumped down so they could continue walking.

"But do the ants have a choice to be where they are or what they do?" Dad question as they began to pass the playground equipment.

"Tell me why did you save me from the fire when you didn't have to?" Basil looked up at him.

"You were helpless and my heart went out to you." Dad shrugged.

"What about Mom? Did someone force you to be with her?" Dad shook his head. "Then why?" He looked at the ground they tromped on for a moment then at him.

"I fell in love." Dad answered quietly.

"And it worked out didn't it? So why can't be fate and free will be one and the same? Helping hands." Basil eyed him.

"I've heard that before!" He grinned.

"So maybe that's what the ants want." Basil said. Dad smiled and nudged him with his elbow.

"I will _never_ understand what your biological parents were thinking when they tried to kill you, you are one in a lifetime!" He put a hand on his shoulder proudly and pulled him in his side.

"One more question." Dad said happily.

"Alright, what?" Basil smiled.

"How is it that you don't have that you don't have a degree in philosophy?" He chuckled causing him to chuckle.

"One, because there's no jobs in that department and two, I want to be a space explorer! You know for someone _directly_ related to Albert and Mileva Einstein I thought that would have been obvious." Basil wrapped an arm around him.


End file.
